136 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
136 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
|
||
RELIGION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
|
||
|
||
In the past Religion was confined to the state now with religious freedom
|
||
everything has changed or at least started to change. In order for religion to
|
||
be in a private school now it is again trying to be in Public schools. People
|
||
ask "why can't freedom to acknowledge god be enjoyed again by children in every
|
||
schoolroom across this land?"S01T In the past, a long time ago children
|
||
always prayed before class started and before lunch. But things h ave changed,
|
||
"in 1791 the separation of church and state"S02T started. Although it was
|
||
made clear about the separation of the two "as late as 1951 some twenty states
|
||
permitted schools to begin the day by reading aloud a passage of the
|
||
bible."S03T Bu t that had to stop. People didn't have the same beliefs when
|
||
it comes to religion, if a family absent even believe in god why should their
|
||
child be forced to pray? On many different occasions questions similar to this
|
||
one were brought up and complained about. That is what started it all real
|
||
big.
|
||
|
||
When complaining, arguing and fighting all started over the silent moment. In
|
||
1978 a few lawyers got together and considered a constitutional law. The
|
||
original law said that public school teachers in gr ades 1-6 "shall announce
|
||
that a period of silence, not to exceed one minute, shall be observed for
|
||
meditation."S04T This law did not work for long, because it still allowed
|
||
oral prayer in public high schools. Later in 1981, the Alabama State Senator D
|
||
onald G. Holmes successfully passed a bill that included all grades calling it
|
||
"the moment of silence"S05T this law said that "the teacher (was) to announce
|
||
that the silent moment may be used for voluntary prayer."S06T Although it
|
||
would have to be si lent prayer. Even after this new law started the lawyers
|
||
that were opposed to this were trying to say that students "do not have a right
|
||
to pray in school"S07T silently or otherwise because of growing impressions
|
||
that affect their life. The silent mom ent supposedly "(forced) religion on
|
||
children."S08T I don't agree with that at all, if there has to be a moment of
|
||
silence then any child can use that moment however he or she wants, it does not
|
||
necessarily have to be used fro prayer. Usually "the chi ldren who have been
|
||
brought up with prayer or some type of religion are usually proven to be
|
||
better"S09T kids. I have friends who go to private schools where praying in
|
||
class out loud is perfectly O.K. and normal. This praying in the classroom
|
||
usually would have a pretty good size affect on the rest of a person's life.
|
||
Although when praying aloud it could force one type of religion on a student
|
||
rather than having them have more of a choice of what type of religion they
|
||
want or if they even want to ha ve a religion. When there would be the
|
||
religion in the classrooms. "School children not participating in the prayers
|
||
or the bible readings (would be) asked or required to leave the room."S010T
|
||
This has been another big dispute because the bill of rig hts states that there
|
||
shall be "freedom of religion"S011T therefore this means that if a person
|
||
does not believe in god or what ever the instance might be then they don't have
|
||
to. This means if you want to have any type of religion you may. The childr
|
||
en who are forced to leave the classroom to stand in the hall are forced to
|
||
make a statement that says "we do not believe in te god of te state (or) we do
|
||
not believe that prayer should be publicly displayed in a public
|
||
schoolhouse."S012T This was all thought to be by mainly every one all wrong,
|
||
therefore if a child wished not to participate in the pledge o allegiance or
|
||
what ever it might be they did not have to leave the classroom, stand silently
|
||
in the halls, or write a statement in stead they were allowed to just sit
|
||
quietly in their seats.
|
||
|
||
Religion in public schools would be good for certain students but the silent
|
||
moment is good enough for now. Since religion has been tried in public schools
|
||
and hasn't exactly worked, the groups of children who wish to have prayer
|
||
meetings with other school members are allowed to have meetings, groups, clubs,
|
||
ect. before, at lunch or after school.
|
||
|
||
"Religion (in the public schools) can change a persons life"S013T if a parent
|
||
wants their child to have religion they can send their child to a private
|
||
school and if a parent does not want their child to pressured in to having a
|
||
religion they should be able to send their child to a public school and if he
|
||
or she wishes to atend meetings then they can do so on their own.
|
||
|
||
Religion can change a person life sometimes for the better, but then again
|
||
sometimes for the worse, although the silent moment cannot affect anything
|
||
"freedom to acknowledge god in every school room across this land,"S014T
|
||
wouldn't al ways be a bad idea.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
W1 BIBLIOGRAPHY
|
||
W0
|
||
|
||
"School Board Bans Open Forums to Prohibit a Student Group Prayer."\Christ Today\(February 1, 1985) 48-49.
|
||
|
||
Bosmajian, Haig. "To Pray or Not to Pray"\The Humanist Magazine,\(January/February, 198
|
||
5) 13-17.
|
||
|
||
Gest, Ted. "What High Court Heard About School Prayer."\U.S. News,\(December 17, 1984) 71.
|
||
|
||
Lewis, C. Anne. "Creeping Religiosity and Federal Education Policy."\PHI Delta Kappan,\(November, 1984) 163-164.
|
||
|
||
Roberts, Fransis. "The Uproar Over Sch
|
||
ool Prayer."\Parents,\(January 18,1985) 55-57.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
W1 FOOTNOTES
|
||
W0
|
||
|
||
S01TFransis Roberts, "The Uproar Over School Prayer,"\Parents,\(November, 1984), p.38.
|
||
|
||
S02TRoberts, p.39.
|
||
|
||
S03TRoberts, p.38
|
||
|
||
S04TBeth Spring, "Can St
|
||
ates Allow Prayer in Public Schools?"\News World,\(January 18, 1985), p.56.
|
||
|
||
S05TSpring, p.57
|
||
|
||
S06TRoberts, p.38
|
||
|
||
S07TSpring, p.57
|
||
|
||
S08TTed Gest, "What High Court Heard About School Prayer,"\U.S. News,\(December 17, 1984), p.71
|
||
.
|
||
|
||
S09THaig Bosmajian, "To Pray or Not To Pray,"\The Humanist\(January/February, 1985), p.14.
|
||
|
||
S010TBosmajian, p.15.
|
||
|
||
S011TGest, p.71.
|
||
|
||
S012TBosmajian, p.15.
|
||
|
||
S013TAnne Lewis, "Creeping Religiosity and Federal Education
|
||
Policy,"\PHI Delta Kappan,\(November, 1984), p.163.
|
||
|
||
S014TRoberts, p.38
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
W1 THESIS
|
||
W0
|
||
Freedom to acknowledge God by children in every school room across this land
|
||
can sometimes but not always be acknowledged.
|
||
|