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Religion In Public Schools

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Religion In Public Schools
Essay 4
Religion in Public Schools
The debate of whether religion should be allowed in public schools has been going on since the late 1940’s. There have been several court cases regarding the issue, and a full compromise has yet to happen. In a country where freedom is supposed to be the law of the land, what is right? Should people have the freedom to be away from religion if they so choose, or should students of a public school be able to freely come together in prayer. I believe if a child wishes, he or she should have the right to practice all forms of religion inside a public school. I think as a nation with freedom of religion, our children should be able to freely practice their beliefs. I believe children who don’t should …show more content…
The court case Engel v. Vitale deemed it unconstitutional to have an official school prayer and to encourage reciting the prayer. The article “Our Father In Heaven” states, “The struggle to accommodate one person’s right of religious expression while not infringing on another person’s right to be free from religious coercion has existed since our Founding Father’s first drafted the Bill of Rights” (Bennett, and Foldesy 1). I agree that the school should not be able to make someone participate. Prayer, however, is not a bad thing, and if a school wants to have a scheduled prayer than they should be able to. It is the child’s choice if he or she wants to participate, so the prayer itself should not be …show more content…
“Our Father In Heaven”: A Legal Analysis of the Recitation of The
Lord’s Prayer by Public School Coaches.” Clearing House: A Journal Of Educational Strategies,
Issues and Ideas 81.4 (2008): 185-189. ERIC. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Feinberg, Walter. “Teaching Religion In Public Schools: Review of Warren A. Nord, Does God Make a Difference?. “Educational Theory 63.4 (2013): 431-438. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.
WEXLER, JAY. "Some Thoughts On The First Amendment 's Religion Clauses And Abner Greene 's Against Obligation, With Reference To Patton Oswalt 's Character "Paul From Staten Island" In The Film Big Fan." Boston University Law Review 93.4 (2013): 1363-1371. Legal Collection. Web. 29 Oct.
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