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Example research essay topic: Prayer In Public Schools - 1,184 words

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... eileen church and state for this country to function collectively, and this balance will be disrupted if students who attend public school are immersed in beliefs that may be in opposition to their own. There are many arguments in favor of secular public schools that need to be addressed before pro-prayer advocates even think of the government issuing an amendment. Public schools exist for children of all cultures to receive an education free from religious propaganda. Prayer advocates claim that prayer will be "voluntary", but how would an eight-year-old view something such as routine prayer as voluntary. Children as young as this are still developing critical thinking skills.

If they put prayer in schools at such an early age, it could inadvertently teach students to alienate themselves from fellow students of different dogmas. What if the students were to initiate prayer proceedings? The consequences of student initiated prayer would be very unpleasant. This would be the worst form of coercion possible because it would be at the hands of a fellow student. Children would be subjected to peer pressure, and pitted against one another with the minority getting the short end of the stick. Instead of school being a place of learning, it would be a gladiator arena: every creed for itself. "Some principals or school boards have even made seniors hold open class votes on whether to pray at graduation, leading to hostility and reprisal against those students brave enough to stand up for the First Amendment. " (Bryce 26).

The majority should never mandate constitutional rights. This type of reasoning would only open up the vote of students to other issues that would possibly suppress the minority's rights. Segregation could be put to the vote. Prayer advocates claim that the amendment would call for voluntary prayer. If it were so voluntary, how would they explain a student forfeiting a graduation because the prayer amendment would allow for prayer to be held at commencements?

Sure, the student has a choice whether or not to go to the graduation, but this is obviously coercion of the worst kind. Religion is a private affair and public schools are public: the two of them just don't mix. Public Schools are for children of all creeds, whether they are Catholic, Baptists, atheists, agnostic, Buddhists, or Jewish. It is not the duty of schools to ingrain religious beliefs: it is solely the duty of the parents and churches.

All parents of all children pay taxes for maintaining schools, so they should be free from their children being coerced. Government should not dictate the religion of public school children simply based on the fact that we started this country based on the concept of separation between the church and the state. "School prayer proponents mistake government neutrality toward religion as hostility" (Bible Implementing religion into public schools will most likely single out the minority religious groups such as Jews or Unitarians. "It was commonplace prior to the court decision against school prayer to put non-religious or non-orthodox children in places of detention during bible-reading or prayer recitation" (Beta 68). There have been cases of children being beaten up and ostracized from groups simply because they did not practice the same religion of the majority religion. "The children of Supreme Court Plaintiffs against religion in schools, such as Vashti McCollum, Ed Scheme and Ismael Jaffree, were beaten up on the way to and from school, their families subjected to community harassment and death threats for speaking out in defense of a constitutional principle" (Bryce 26). To this day, there are still children being persecuted for their religious beliefs outside of school, it does not need to happen inside of school too.

Supporters of the school prayer amendment are failing to realize something. If it is an amendment, they are trying to change something that is the foundation of the Constitution of the United States. This amendment will impugn the safeguard of the Bill of Rights: the protection from the tyranny of the majority. The proposed federal amendment reads: "Nothing in this constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other public institutions. No person shall be required by the United States or by any State to participate in prayer.

Neither the United States or any State shall compose the words of any prayer to be said in public schools. " (Reitman 4). In this amendment it says there will be no prohibition of individual prayer, but individual prayer is already established, it is called "silent prayer." This amendment also fails to recognize the "non denominational" people. Who would select the prayer to be recited, certainly they could not acknowledge every denomination in the school. Should the Protestant minorities be excused form class so that the classroom can pray to the Virgin Mary? There are some school districts where there are more Muslims than any other religion.

Should Christians be excused from the classroom when the principal prays to Allah over the intercom? There is a myriad of issues this amendment fails to take into account. School prayer advocates are only thinking about themselves the majority. If the majority were to dictate the school prayer, the minorities' rights would be infringed upon. What people would be witnessing would be covert usurpation of individual rights. For those would not conform they would be vituperated for being heretics.

People are to focused on the prayer issue when there are other important issues that need to be attended to. It seems that the prayer debate is deflecting America's attention away from the economic questions facing our nation. A governor had this to say, "If we don't deal with t economic issues, we " ll need more than prayer to solve our problems" (Hatfield 6). Then there is the "moment of silence" issue. This idea seems, innocuous, but is a way of circumventing the government restrictions against prayer in school. "We know from experience that many teachers and principals would regard a "moment of silence" mandate as a green light to introduce prayers, causing more legal challenges at the expense of the tax payers" (Madigan Prayer in public schools is simply not a good idea. People in favor of "prayer in schools" are to focused on the problems it will allegedly solve.

It is not bad to look at the positive aspects of something, but it is very important to look at the negative aspects. The problem with people who dote upon religion is that their critical thinking is hindered by their religious fervor. Even Jesus Christ was against prayer in schools. "Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. But thou, when thou prayer, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret"-Matt 6: 5 - 6 (Madigan Advocates of prayer think that religion will solve everything, but in the issue of prayer in school, faith can't be relied on, only sound judgement. Bibliography:


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