РефератыИностранный языкScSchool Prayer Essay Research Paper School Prayerby

School Prayer Essay Research Paper School Prayerby

School Prayer Essay, Research Paper


School Prayer


by Chris Nicholson


Two of America?s most valued freedoms are the freedoms of speech and


of religion. Because they are such fundamental freedoms in this country,


debates over their scope and limitations are often very impassioned.


One such debate is the question of whether or not prayer should be


mandated in public schools. This is not merely a religious or educational


topic, however; it is also a hotly debated political issue. On one side


are conservatives who believe that encouraging prayer will save the


nation?s morality. On the other are liberals who fear enforced prayers


would impede students? religious rights. In the end, the controversy is


for naught; the law already protects students? rights to voluntary prayer


in the schools, and any further measures to mandate prayers would be


detrimental to the freedoms students should be able to enjoy.


The conservative position is that people need moral guidance, such as


daily prayer in school. Conservatives generally feel that the government


should be more involved in maintaining not only order, but also


discipline (Burns et al. 269). Jesse Helms, a conservative senator from


North Carolina, claims that the nation is engaged in ?a struggle for the


soul of America? (Helms 339). This is representative of many


conservatives? concerns: the nation is out of control, and the best way


to fix the problem is to ?take traditional morality out of government-


imposed exile and?put it back in the place of prominence and respect it


once enjoyed? (Helms 340). Indeed, one of the main planks of the Religious


Right?s platform is restoring organized prayer to public schools.


On the other hand, even other conservatives sometimes question this


extreme moral ideology. Barry Goldwater, a conservative leader, voiced the


concerns of many critics of the Religious Right: ?The Moral Majority has


no more right to dictate its moral and political beliefs to the country


than does any other group, political or religious? (Burns et al. 271).


This is the main focus of critics: if the government is to enforce


morality, whose moral standards will it enforce? Barry W. Lynn, director


of Americans United for the Separatio

n of Church and State, puts a finer


point on the argument. It would be nearly impossible to find a prayer that


would suit the religious needs of such a diverse population as can be


found in many public schools. Furthermore, he argues, ?Even if this type


of prayer could be written, who would care to recite such theological


pablum (sic)?? (Lynn 344)


Beyond these concerns, what the Religious Right ignores is that


students already have the right to pray in school if and when they want


to. The Equal Access Act ensures high school students the right to use


school resources for student-initiated religious study (Lynn 345). Plus,


it would be neither legal nor possible to prevent students from praying on


their own. Mark Hatfield, a Republican senator, says that ?prayer is being


given every day in public schools throughout this country that in no way


could we ever abolish, even if we wanted to? (Hatfield 342). While prayer


proponents may cite examples of schools restricting religious freedoms,


these are clearly violations of students? rights, and Hatfield suggests


they would best be dealt with by individual communities, not the federal


government (343).


The only real debate in issue of school prayer is whether the nation


will allow the Religious Right to assign its moral obligations. Whatever


the ultraconservative claims of ?saving? children, mandated school prayers


would only lead to conflicts over whose prayers should be used. Besides,


there are no legal restrictions on students? rights to free exercise of


religion. Essentially, then, all the cries for ?protection? of religious


rights simply fail to acknowledge the fact that anyone who wants to pray


already does so, and anyone who does not should not be forced to.


54f


Burns, James MacGregor, J.W. Peltason, Thomas E. Cronin, and David B. Magleby. ?Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism, Libertarianism.? Government by the People. 16th ed., 1995. Rpt. in Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.


Helms, Jesse A., Mark O. Hatfield and Barry W. Lynn. ?A Debate on School Prayer.? Congressional Digest. Jan. 1995. Rpt. in Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.

Сохранить в соц. сетях:
Обсуждение:
comments powered by Disqus

Название реферата: School Prayer Essay Research Paper School Prayerby

Слов:787
Символов:5357
Размер:10.46 Кб.