I used to believe that prayer in schools wasn’t an issue, and that
nobody thought that we should have prayer in school. I have discovered that I
was wrong. It is an issue being debated in the current presidential campaigns.
In my opinion, school prayer is wrong because the
Constitution states that there should be separation between church and state.
This means that the state should not allow any religious activities in public
places. The state means the government, and a school is a public building. It
is, therefore, wrong to tell a student to pray in a public school because all
students are required to attend school. In a private school, prayer may be
allowed because students are not required to go to a private school.
George W. Bush is in support of the Ten Commandments being posted in
school. Again, this is a violation of the separation of church and state. The
first commandment says, “I am the Lord thy God,” which I think means that
you have to believe in God. I feel that this is absolutely wrong to post in
schools because it is wrong to tell public school students that they have to
believe in God. Americans have the right to believe in twenty gods if they
want or no gods at all.
In our school, thankfully, organized school prayer is not allowed, and
no one is told to pray at a certain time. During the moment of silence,
students may pray silently. As long as they do not pray aloud or pressure
anyone into doing it, this should be acceptable. Also, no one should be
allowed to stand in front of the room and pray, or do any other religious
practice conspicuously, because that is similar to organized school prayer.
I also think the two words, “under God,” should
not be in the Pledge of Allegiance. People might interpret these words to mean
that they have to think that God is the ruler of the United States, which is
the opposite of religious freedom. I believe that public school is not a place
to practice religious beliefs.
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