Prayer in schools???  

I agree, completely. God should be allowed anywhere an individual thinks necessary. Thank you. =)

Personally, I do not believe not praying in school is what makes people 'evil'. I am an atheist and I've never prayed once in my life. I'm charitable, volunteer my time and money to good causes, never committed a single crime and am perfectly capable of understanding my own morals.

I don't believe that prayer is the answer to all lifes questions, and I don't believe that praying will suddenly make the world a better place. People who pray commit just as much crime and do just as many bad things in the world as people who don't.

Ambur25,
But according to the Christian faith, god is everywhere, and god is in you. So, if that is so, then god hears your prayer whether silently said to your self or screamed from a roof-top right? So, is this really about praying or is it more about sanctioning a specific religion in public schools? I mean because if one is really concerned that there silent prayers aren't being heard by their god, then I'd question their faith more then the public school system. If it's a question of not getting enough prayer time in, then those types of parents need to place their kids in a religious school and not expect the public school system to cater to their religion, because if the public school had to cater to everyone's different belief then there would be little time for teachers to teach. Now, if your child wants to pray to himself before he eats lunch or feels the need to bow his head and pray when he feels he needs a little extra time with god, hey who is stopping him? As long as he isn't disruptive to the teacher, as long as he isn't trying to indoctrinate any of the other students, then let him pray to himself. Heck, how many kids close there eyes for a quick breather in class, how do we know if they are praying? we don't. Why does a big production have to be made over this? When I was a catholic, we prayed silently in church all the time, we didn't have broadcast our prayers out loud.

I agree completely. And thank you. See you in chatttttttttt cuz iluuuuu <33 =P

ILU2! AND CYA THERE!

this is a great topic!

what should be a good thing? O.o

I think that Adults can't separate how they reason from how a child reasons. An adult will think "Prayer is important in life and should be allowed whereever." A child thinks "Prayer time is an excellent out from Math class." Children don't reason as adults do so it is silly to think that it would serve anything other than a distractn from studies.

That is very true, and therefore it would become a distraction, it would take away from the teachers efforts to teach. I don't send my children to school to have religion enforced. They can get that in sunday school.

I certainly see where you're coming from on this, but the post wasn't about getting out of class to go pray. It was more about praying quietly before his lunch? And with all due respect, my son (who is 8 years old now) knows the difference. He thinks of prayer just as he should. Not as an easy cop out. Children understand and realize more than most adults think they do. They may not use all the right words, but children see more than you think. =)

I agree with you on this one. It becomes a problem when it is sanctioned and forced upon all, and then it becomes an equation for teaching intolerance. Why should a teacher, who has no belief, have to lead a class in a prayer, doesn't that infringe on the rights of the teacher? In the same respect, why should a student who does not believe in a religion have to be part of a student or administration lead prayer, and they should not have to be made to feel that they have to leave a room because of the prayer.

If you are so worried about your children not getting enough god in their daily routine then send them to a school of your religious choice, that's what the Catholics do...and even the Jewish.

It also stands to further SEGREGATE in public schools. This is why people started private schools with a religeous doctrine.

I agree with you on that. It's not about saying a public prayer. It was about my son praying quietly to himself before eating his lunch. Not praying to his class, or asking everyone else to pray with him.

To the others, I didn't say I wanted more religion in his daily activities. Lol. I could send him to a private school. He was in a private Christian preschool before. Personally, I think a Christian school is great. But, I also think that these schools can shelter kids from "the real world." They are taught that there is crime, and sin, and bad things in the world, but until they come face to face with it, or see signs of it themselves, they never truly know the extent of these things. Again, this is simply my opinion. I didn't want my sons to be in a private school and thrown out into the world. I want them to see the world for what it is, make their own opinions and thoughts, be taught right from wrong, and be able to use their free will to make the decisions that they think are right for their life. Right or wrong. It's human nature to sin, and we as humans make mistakes. But, we also learn from these mistakes. And if they aren't allowed to make mistakes on thier own, they will never learn how to fix things for themselves. I won't allow my children to play in the street! But, I'm not going to stand over them for the rest of their lives and keep them sheltered. It's only when they make a mistake, that they learn to fix it, and learn how to avoid it next time.

So, then what's the big deal, you just solved the problem if you say that they are already praying, then what's the big deal. This is my point exactly, if you have faith and believe in a religion you pray no matter where you are. Most religious teachings teach that the powerful entity they are praying to is with them always and in them always, so their prayers are always heard no matter where they are. The problem here is, we have certain religious groups that want the public schools to sanction their specific religion and mandate the praying, and that is when it crosses boundaries. No, one says you cannot pray in school, just you cannot have it forced and lead by a public school teacher or administrator, because not everyone in public school prays or believes the same way, and we do not want to be intolerant to anyone in the public school venue. No one is stopping a student who chooses to pray quietly to themselves, just do not expect the public school to take the time away from classroom instructions to cater to prayer.