Katie+Watson--Prayer+in+School+FAQs

__ P ____ r ____ a ____ y ____ e ____ r ____ i ____ n ____ S ____ c ____ h ____ o ____ o ____ l ____ F ____ A ____ Q ____ ’ ____ s ____ ! ____ ! __ **



Q: Are students allowed to pray in school? **

A: In 1963, with the case Abington Township School District v. Schempp, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling regarding prayer in school. It declared that public __school sponsored__ Bible reading and recitation of prayer was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court said that the court removed “government sponsored prayer, not prayer directly from school.” After the case, the Supreme Court said, “The Constitution is a guarantee that neither the power nor the prestige of the federal government would be used to control, support, or influence the kinds of prayer that Americans can say, but religions must not be subjected.” The Supreme Court never argued that students may not engage in voluntary private prayer. Students may pray in school if they are not disrupting other students, school activities, and school lessons.


 * Q: Do students have the right to pray in school? **

A: The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that the people have the freedom of speech, religion and the press. So students are allowed to pray in school.


 * Q: When did the prayer in public school debate begin? **

A: The prayer in school debate began in 1960. A case was brought before the courts in Baltimore Maryland, which centered on the son of Madalyn Murray O'Hair was forced to participate in school prayer. Her lawsuit, combined with the actions of the American Atheist Organization, removed prayer from schools in the sense that it could not be led by any member of the school staff.


 * Q: What are some of the pros and cons of prayer in school? **

A: __Pros:__ · Combat issues such as teen pregnancy, drug abuse, drunk driving, and other diseases · Influences religious heritage · Customary for many religions to pray throughout the day · Promote good citizenship**.** John Adams once said, “Our constitution was made only for moral and religious people…” · Instills moral values __Cons:__ · Some students may feel threatened (doesn’t accommodate the religions of all students) · Diversity of many religions · Violates separation of church and state · Disrupts school work

A: 76 % of Americans are in favor of prayer, 23 % oppose prayer in school, 1% have no opinion. Also, 69% favor moment of silence, 23% favor spoken prayer, 5% say neither, and 3% are in favor of both a moment of silence and spoken prayer.
 * Q: What is the percentage of Americans in favor of prayer in public school, and what are some other views? **

A moment of silence is a proposed compromise for all opposed and for all in favor of prayer in public school. The moment of silence was first projected by Alabama to the Supreme Court in 1985. It was declared unconstitutional because Alabama sought it to be used strictly for prayer. Soon after, Virginia proposed the idea. They didn’t want it strictly for prayer, which made it okay for the Supreme Court to allow it. The moment of silence is used at the beginning of the day, usually accompanied by the morning announcements. This forces everyone to take a break and to think, though it is also allows a time for those who wish to pray. All of this is done without enforcing or excluding any religions and without setting it as a __designated__ time for just praying.
 * Q: What is the moment of Silence? **


 * Q: Are there any schools that allow prayer? **

A: Many private schools allow school sponsored prayer during their day. Public schools, however, may only allow students to pray privately. Because there may be many different religions and diverse cultures attending the school, and they don’t want any certain people to feel uncomfortable.

8th Grade AT LA 1-2