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Last Updated December 6, 2003
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Prayer in Public Schools
You've probably guessed, by now, that I'm wholeheartedly against this practice. Prayer, of any kind, has no place in America's public schools. The First Amendment's freedom of religion clause should be enough to explain why this is so, but, for many, it is not.
Politicians advocating this practice have often been quoted that "freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from religion." This is one of the most bigoted statements that a religious person can make. It basically says that everyone must believe in a God of some sort. This is a blatant slap in the face to those of us in the 10% of the nation that aren't religious.
Some advocates of the idea of prayer in public schools also say that it won't necessarily be Christian prayer, but any prayer, Moslem, Hindu or whatever else the student chooses to pray, but what about that student who doesn't believe in God? What should he or she do during this time of prayer? I'd suggest standing up during the prayer time and reciting the First Amendment, every day, every prayer session, until the intolerant practice is put to an end.
Christians who advocate this practice in public schools like to use the "any kind of prayer" argument to make it look like they're being inclusive to all others and their beliefs. However, they are only showing their willingness to use other religions for their own ends. "Look, we're letting a Buddhist meditate, we're tolerant!" This is simply going from "Christianity versus Everyone Else," to "All the World's Religions versus the Atheists and the Skeptics."
The point is that, no matter how many religions you include in your prayer sessions in a public school, you're always ostracizing someone. Someone's right to think freely is always going to be trampled. If the state engages in wholesale support of religious belief, even if it is every kind of belief from Christian to Wicca, the state is encouraging religion over non-religion. This is a violation of the separation of church and state. The whole point of that doctrine is to make sure that no law is ever made whose purpose is to elevate the status of one religion, any religion, and all religions in the eyes of the state.
