School Prayer Should Be Allowed

Term Paper Title	School Prayer Should Be Allowed
# of Words	697
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.79

School Prayer Should Be Allowed

        I attended twelve years of  Catholic School. My parents consented to the
decision of my enrollment and they knew what was involved.  They knew that the
study of God and prayer was mandatory.  Prayer in school in my case produced and
environment of discipline and respect for the teachers.  The involvement of my
parents and the faculty in the use of prayer was in full agreement.  However, my
view was not even considered important.  My rights had been violated.
        The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives every
individual the same rights.  One right is the constitutional protection for the
free exercise of religion. The second right  is prohibition of the establishment
of religion by the state.  The founders of the constitution recognized  the
freedom of religion as an important factor in establishing a democracy.  They
also recognized a space of freedom between the government and the people,
whereby the government could not force an individual or group to do something
they did not want to do.  The government is not upholding their part of the
constitution. They are trying to tell people that saying prayer in public school
is unconstitutional.
        In fact, prayer in public school is legal, so is prayer in church and
prayer in stores etc... .  The area which is not legal is when students or
teachers pray when engaged in school activities or instruction.  This means
students or teachers may pray in an informal setting, such as cafeterias and
hallways. They may talk about and discuss problems with religion and their
beliefs at that time.  A person may come to school early and sit quietly and
pray.  With the permission of the school a group of students could  establish a
prayer club.  All these things are legal, but what the government is trying to
avoid is mandatory school prayer.  Mandatory school prayer is illegal and
violates the constitution. It would contradict all separation between church and
state.  If prayer in public school was  made necessary the country would most
likely be divided.  You would have the religious leader ecstatic about the
freedom of prayer. Then you would have offended non-believers or  believer of
other denomi...

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