NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... to support a new amendment. The issues of prayer in the school system used to be on the back burner but now it has been moved upstage, front and center. The discussion of a school prayer amendment is not so much about prayer itself but more about what kind of prayer should be allowed and who should be in charge of it. The American people in communities and local school boards across the country should make these decisions. Do U.
S. citizens not live in a democracy? An amendment is not needed to require or to encourage school prayer but to restore the right and responsibility to the people who decide what kind of education they want for their children. Parents should have real choices in education.
The schools across this nation should share their education goals. Richard Brookhiser said it best in his essay, Let Us Pray, when he wrote: Will it do little hellions any good to be exposed to such sentiments in homeroom? Maybe not. Congress begins each day with a prayer, and look how it behaves. But a society should know where the things it holds dear come from, and why there are limits to its own actions. School is one place to learn such things, and one way of learning is to repeat the lesson daily. (Brookhiser) Basically, an amendment is needed for three reasons.
First, it is necessary to check upon the overreach of the imperial judiciary (The Debate). The Constitution neither rules nor prohibits prayer in schools. The Constitution says nothing about prayer in the schools; therefore, it does not say it is unconstitutional. Two centuries passed with no thought that school prayer was a constitutional question. It should be this way once again. Those who claim that the American people are incapable of deciding the question in a civil and respectful manner reveal contempt for our democratic process.
One may argue that it is unfair but it is not unconstitutional and it will apparently take an amendment to make that clear. Along with the constitution stating nothing for or against school prayer, there is also a second reason for an amendment. The second reason for an amendment is that it will challenge the judicial advancement of the pernicious ideology of the naked public square, of American public life denuded of religion and religiously grounded values (The Debate). Those who supported the school prayer decisions of the 1960 s sent a powerful message that America is a secular society and that a secular society is one in which religion must be separated from any sphere from that is designated as public (Paul). This message combined with the notion that public is another word for governmental and the conclusion is inescapable that religion must retreat wherever government advances-and government advances almost everywhere (Constitutional Amendment). Does this mean that religion should not exist?
Of course not, but that is one of the purposes of a new amendment to reverse the pattern of collision between the government and religion. Paralleling the first two reasons, a third controversial issue is also supportive of the basis for the amendment. The third reason for an amendment, closely connected to the first two, is that the incoherence of church-state jurisprudence over the last three decades is tied up with the school prayer decisions (The Debate). Many of the justices of the Supreme Court have at one time or another publicly admitted that Congress has contradicted itself when it comes to the religion clause of the First Amendment. Prayer in school would not be such a problem if the Supreme Court believed that voluntary prayer is not constitutionally forbidden. However, because the courts have said that it is an establishment of religion, the states must remain neutral.
The Courts have even gone further to say that religion poses a threat to society and deserves at most, legal protection as an individual choice or a private eccentricity (Constitutional Amendment). What does society need protecting from? An amendment is not going to change what people believe nor will it change the way they live their lives. However, it will restore the rights to those who are unable to practice their religious freedoms freely. (The Debate) This issue of prayer in the public school system has caused controversy not only among the American people but also in the court system. The removal of prayer from the schools sparked a lingering conflict over the positive and negative effects of school prayer. There were many court cases that argued these sides.
Eventually the court case, Murray vs. Current, snatched this form of communication with the Creator out of the nations schools. As the lack of prayer in the schools began, so did the hate and violence. So, now as the years pass and students become less aware that prayer in school used to be a requirement, what can be done to move this issue in a positive direction? For the time being, an alternative to Christian prayer could be a moment of silence, not to take up time but to let students have a moment of silence to pray however they wish. Meanwhile, for those who wish not to pray, this moment would provide a quiet opportunity to collect their thoughts and mentally prepare them for the day ahead.
Works Cited Brookhiser, Richard. Let Us Pray. Time. 19 December 1994. 13 February 2002 < web Chebium, Rate. Supreme Court Says Student-Led Prayer at High School Games Violates First Amendment. 20 June 2000. 13 February 2002 < web Clemens, John. Big Court Victory for School Prayer. 29 October 1997. 4 March 2002 < web Constitutional Amendment on School Prayer or Moment of Silence. American Civil Liberties Union, 1996. 13 February 2002 < web The Debate About a School Prayer Amendment. 1997. 4 March 2002 < web Paul, Larry.
School Prayer: When God Is Not Enough. February 1996. 19 February 2002 < web School Prayer Decision. American Atheist. 2000. 13 February 2002 < web Works Consulted Gaylord, Annie. The Case Against School Prayer. 1995. 19 February 2002. < web German, Anne. Top Court to Hear School Vouchers Case. February 2002. 19 February 2002. < web Ohio, Madalyn Murray.
Atheism. American Atheist. 2000. 13 February 2002 < web Prayer in School. 1997. 4 March 2002 < web Steel, D. W. Religious Freedom of Hypocrisy? The Oxford Eagle. 7 March 1996. 13 February 2002 < web
Free research essays on topics related to: constitutional amendment, 2002 lt, supreme court, school prayer, prayer amendment
Research essay sample on Constitutional Amendment Prayer Amendment
