Shrontz 1

Geni Shrontz
Professor Schrecongost
English 111
08 October 2016

Prayer in School

A lot of debate has sprung up concerning prayer in school. The big question people ask is,

Should prayer be banned in school? A lot of followers of Christ are upset because Prayer is

being banned in a lot of public schools. I believe that prayer should not be banned in school, but

not everyone should have to participate.

There is a flaw, however, when people say that separation of church and state are in the

constitution. This is false and most people do not realize it. The constitution never states that

prayer should not be in school or about prayer in the public. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter, in

response to a letter he received from a Baptist, wrote the phrase wall of separation of church

and state. This was never in the constitution. Although Jefferson was president at the time, it

was never stated in the constitution. When people use this reference in a debate about any form

of prayer in public, they are wrong. Prayer in school should be allowed to they people who want

to pray, but should not be mandatory.

Another issue with prayer in school is the fact that not everyone is Christian. A lot of

Muslims have spoken out about this problem. In an interview I found on YouTube, Muslims are

allowed to pray in their school. They can walk out of their class and do their prayer then go back

to class. This is how it should be. It should not just be for one religion, but for all religions.

People think that prayer is just bowing your head and talking to God out loud, or silently, but it is
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so much more. Different religions have different ways of prayer. Muslims pray 5 time a day and

they should be allowed to. Even if it is not my religion, I would not want someone to tell me that

I cannot pray or that I have to bend my beliefs for someone else. A compromise for this problem

could be to provide a class to the Muslims in the school so that they would have their time of

prayer. This would solve the issue of just getting us and leaving at this time. They would have a

class to where it is just for them praying.

The moment of silence is another topic that can be debated. In some beliefs, the moment

of silence is a time to pray and a time to worship God for the time we have. If prayer is banned in

school, how will someone be able to have their moment of silence the way they believe they

should have it? I believe that the moment of silence is something that should not be taken away

just like prayer in school. How can you tell someone that they cannot pray to a God that saved

them? Rather you believe or not it is never okay to take away someones beliefs. In the first

amendment, it gave everyone the right to speech. The second amendment gave us the right to

bear arms. The fourteenth amendment gave us the right to vote. All of these rights, and they take

away the right to pray in school. It is not right to take away something that is very valuable and

vital to someone.

A lot of compromise need to happen for this issue to be solved. One compromises that

could happen is classes for people. A class that gives student the time to pray or gather for

fellowship. This class would not be mandatory, but would be an elective class that would not be a

credit. This class could be like a study hall, but instead of studying, they are praying and talking

about God. Another compromise that could happen is to be able to meet before or after school. A

lot of schools will not even let students meet after school hours. They could allow the students to

have a bible study for anyone who wants to come after school. They could also have a time
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before school where students and teachers could meet and pray over their school or just pray

together. This compromise should not be a problem because they are not meeting during school

hours. The students and staff should be able to pray in their school without being punished for it.

Praying in school is something that should be allowed. Not only because it is someones

right, but because it is someones belief. A belief is not an opinion, but it is a way to live.

Someone could be Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or Catholic; no matter what religion they are, it

is their way of living. It is how they perceive life and take something like prayer away, is taking

away from their living.

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Works Cited

Blankley, Bethany. Separation of Church and State Is Not in the U.S. Constitution. July 2nd,2014

2:57p.m. link: http://www.christianpost.com/news/separation-of-church-and-state-is-not-in-the-

u-s-constitution-122657/

Live, Alaska. Muslim Prayer in Public School. September 10th, 2015. Link:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?

q=muslim+talking+about+prayer+in+public+school+&view=detail&mid=2CD6710701F0D2CA

7B3E2CD6710701F0D2CA7B3E&FORM=VIRE