Preview

Should Prayer Be Allowed in Schools Essay Example

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
353 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Prayer Be Allowed in Schools Essay Example
Malai Varner
08-26-2012
Persuasive Paragraph
Should Prayer be allowed in Public Schools? I have never thought about prayer in schools until I found an article in a magazine. I found that this might be a good persuasive paragraph topic. I found that prayer is already “allowed in public schools”. First, I think everyone should be allowed to pray silently or to themselves to God while sitting in class before a test or eating lunch. I think prayer should be allowed anywhere or anytime we see fit. Silent prayer is probably the only way that most Christians have a chance to obey God’s call to “pray without ceasing”. Second, prayer is already used before football games and most sporting events. Coaches pray the famous prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” and so forth. However, the controversy is not in praying silently, it is in public and should we should do it in a group and out loud. We argue that if it isn’t done out loud, it doesn’t count. There is a lot of diversity in schools and some children or teachers may not be Christians because they are taught another religion because of their culture. I think no matter where we pray, or if it is done silently or out loud, God still hears us. I am a Christian and I know God answers prayer. God has calmed my fears, given me comfort and joy and has solved many of my problems on one or more occasions. The problem with our society isn’t the lack of prayer in schools but the lack of love and generosity among those who claim they are Christians. Instead of worrying about whether school children are standing and reciting a daily prayer, maybe we should take more time to follow God’s example to steal away to a quiet place and ask God to bless us with more loving and generous

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    However, society stills considers this a contentious debate that shows this is still a sensitive topic among religious and non-religious Americans. Armstrong Williams writes in his article “We Need More Prayer”, “A few moments of prayer in schools seems a small thing - harmless enough, almost to the point of insignificance. Yet it has provoked an impassioned firestorm of debate about the dangers of imposing viewpoints…” Prayers is school may be innocent enough but it can and does marginal religious minorities. These debates being had throughout the country on the topic of religious prayers in public schools is an issue that almost certain will end in a stalemate. There are far too many voices that are being heard regarding this issue and none seems to be willing to compromise. But this is a good thing. People can agree to disagree and this is good for the country. Expression and speech are two great rights we have as US citizens and we have the right even compelled to use said rights. However the Government is not made up of one individual who has one voice and speaks for all. It is made up of many people with many voices that speak for everyone. Religious prayer simply cannot exist in schools because there are too many religions. It has too many voices of faith and faiths which hosts many different deities. Government and areas of public learning should just…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The New York Board of Regents penned the following prayer to be spoken in New York public schools: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our Country” (Unger and Unger 223). The prayer was intended to be simple, inoffensive, and inclusive but the reaction was quite the opposite; the controversy that ensued became the stepping-stone for one of the most controversial topics of modern day activism and politics. Mr. Justice Black delivered the assertion that, “it is nether sacrilegious nor antireligious to say that each separate government in this country should stay out of the business of writing or sanctioning official prayers and leave the purely religious function to the people themselves and to those the people choose to look to for religious guidance” (Unger and Unger 226). I disagree with the idea that religion does not belong in the publics school systems of America; however, I feel as though the governing powers should leave religion to those who care to partake in it.…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Engel and four other parents -- two Jews, an atheist, a Unitarian, and another Protestant -- complained that the prayer was "contrary to the beliefs, religions, or religious practices of both themselves and their children." (Religion in public schools: Engel v. Vitale) After the five parents discussed this topic they came up with a case, and at the end found victory. ” The duty to uphold the Constitution is a fundamental difference between public schools and religious schools.” (Religion and Public Schools).…

    • 1697 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Since taking the Bible and prayer out of Schools, there have been five negative developments in the nation’s public schools: Academic achievement has plummeted, including SAT scores, increased rate of out-of-wedlock births, an increase in illegal drug use, increase in juvenile crime and deterioration of school behavior. Without someone teaching our youth in schools about God, the Bible and Jesus, where are the youth of America going to learn?…

    • 2028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    “…when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret” (Bible, Matt. 6:5-6). School prayers add conflict to education in many ways. As a result of the vast amount of religions in the United States, there are conflicts caused my disagreements of religion. “Japan, where no one prays at school, had the lowest crime rate of any developed nation” (Gaylor, 683). Religion should only be taught in private schools or organizations. The First Amendment was made for Freedom of religion, press, and expression, meaning that everyone has a right to pray, but not for public schools to convert the students into believe a certain religion. I strongly agree on Gaylor’s viewpoints of school prayers because I was felt in the same situation in the past. Public schools should stay open to different…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I see school prayer as a moral issue because although it does state in the constitution the separation of church and state, I believe that this issue is just a conflict between religious people and liberal people that don’t believe in religion. I think it is morally wrong to force someone into a religion but I don’t see how prayer does that, if you don’t believe then don’t do the prayer and that is all. B. It is not proper for one religion to impose its morality and doctrine on another if and when they are doing it out of legal bounds, besides that I believe it is acceptable to say what you…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some say that school children understand that the Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic exercise and not a religious one. Others are under the argument that a prayer in school or at school ceremonies puts the students and attendees in the midst of a religious ceremony. For example, graduation ceremonies typically will make some sort of religious reference whether through a speech or a prayer, but students do not have to attend graduation, they do have to attend school where the debate is over the Pledge. Some are arguing that the Pledge and other examples that are being used to show how religion has made its way into government functions are simply ceremonial and patriotic. Others argue that this interferes with the…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    islam

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In the US people are already given the right to pray, public or in private, kids already are allowed to pray in schools, therefore we can assume the founding fathers would not mind this change.…

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ethos Pathos And Logos

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages

    My group members and I chose to take on this topic of issue because we felt like it was and still is mostly overlooked today. Furthermore, we as a group chose this topic because we all had different education backgrounds and we thought that it would be interesting topic to look up more information on. In the group, I was the only one who had a Catholic school background. I had never been into a public school until I came to William Paterson University. Unlike public school which was free, my mother paid tuition for me to have a good education. Catholic education has become a huge part of my life for many years. It is the reason today why my faith is powerful. At my elementary and high school, we would pray three times a day, and we would address…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Analysis Paper One

    • 2195 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development revolves around the concept that an individual is impacted by several distinct relationships during their lifetime. According to this theory, these relationships are broken down into five levels that represent an individual’s five major interactions during their life; microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. These five systems are based on the ecological theory that these continually changing environmental systems impact the individual throughout childhood and into adulthood. This paper will demonstrate Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development by looking at how it shaped this author’s development and influenced the direction that was taken in her life.…

    • 2195 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Warren Court

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Warren Court affected prayer in public schools. Engel v. Vitale decision states that prayer is no longer allowed in public schools. John F Kennedy suggested a "remedy" to people who disagree with Engel vs. Vitale. He says to pray more at home and not in school. However, prayer in public schools continued. Prayers are part of school activities from early morning moments of silence to lunchtime prayer sessions. The issue in this continuing debate is that people wanted to continue fighting religion in school.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Over seventy-six percent of the adolescents in America believe in a personal God (Regnerus). Despite this fact, the stigma surrounding the debate of separating school from religion mostly brings religious talk in education to a stand-still. Religion has presented itself in society for as long as history has recorded life in societies, and many individuals still practice their faith. In today’s society, however, teachers and educators rarely mention religion outside of Social Studies classes in public school systems. Yet, science has proven that allowing religion in lives affects and improves the quality of life. Public schools should allow religion because the presence increases test scores, results in better behavior, and leads to an overall happier life.…

    • 1845 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prayers in Schools

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My name is Ericka Jaid Laurett heil. I have long brown hair and I have blue eyes and I am 5’6. My interests are drawing, playing Xbox, babysitting, watching family guy, and sleeping. My expectations for myself are to pass high school not failing any classes. I was close to failing my expectation because I failed math. But I took credit recovery and got the credit! I wish to be a pediatrician because I love kids and helping them and making them happy. Activities that I enjoy are volleyball, basketball and I used to play soccer but my knees and ankles are bad.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The world today has many issues and conflicting arguments. One of the arguments that has caught my attention is whether or not there should be prayer in school. According to Rebecca Klein, with (HuffPost Education), in the year of 2014 around 61% of Americans agree with daily prayer in school. While on the other hand, 37% of Americans do not agree with having prayer in school. To me, the schools in the United States should be allowed to have prayer in school because; morals should be taught, to restore Christianity, and to give the students the opportunity to express their feelings.…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion has played a major role in our country since the beginning. Our Founding Fathers were very devout Christians. This country was set up with the intent of having our religous freedom secured. They passed laws that created a separation of church and state. However, in recent years this separation has began to deminish. Our government should stand and protect the rights our Founding Fathers instilled in this country.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays