To Pray Or Not To Pray
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Submitted by ginbo03 on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
- Category: Social Issues
- Words: 561
- Pages: 3
- Views: 15
- Popularity Rank: 9696
To Pray Or Not To Pray
The American people have been granted specific freedoms through the Bill of Rights. Although our forefathers granted certain rights, some constraints have been enforced over the years. The Constitution states that American citizens have the right to freedom of expression through speech and the press, but does this right apply to the expression of religion?
The Engel vs. Vitale case of 1962 resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to prohibit state-mandated prayer from public school classrooms. Now public schools across the country, by law, are prohibited to pray in the classroom during regular teaching hours. A morning prayer that was led at a New York public school prompted the case. The prayer followed as such:
"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee and beg thy blessing over us, our parents, our teachers, and our nation."
Parents of the students who practiced atheism, antagonism, or religions that weren't of the Christian faith began to protest. The opposition prompted one of the most controversial cases taken to the U.S. Supreme Court and stirred debates about the issue nationwide.
Supporters of prayer in public schools believe that the Supreme Court's ruling was undemocratic and contradictory to the religious principles of our government. In the film entitled School Prayer: A Community at War by Slawamir Grunberg and Ben Crane
an advocate stated three instances when the government has persistently followed religious principles. He mentioned that Congress prays at the opening of every session, federal officials take oath upon a Bible, and the phrase "In God we trust" is stamped on our national currency. Those examples clearly demonstrate that our government may not in fact be completely separated from religion. Also, polls were taken across the country before the Supreme Court reached their final decision. The result was that the majority voted for prayer to remain in public schools. In this case...
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