FREE ESSAY ON COERCIVE PRAYER

COERCIVE PRAYER

Coercive Prayer
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America reads: Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof. This amendment, commonly called the Establishment Clause, forms the
foundation of the right of every American to practice their chosen religion freely and
without the interference of the government. In 1947, the Supreme Court issued a statement
emphasizing the separation of school and state based on this amendment. Those in favor of
the practice of school-organized prayer draw their basis from the belief that students
must be taught morals in school, and that morals cannot be taught properly without the
use of religion. Proponents of this viewpoint believe that an ethical code cannot exist
without some higher power dictating it to mankind. There are flaws in this argument.
First is the assumption that morals must be taught in public schools. Many people hold
the belief that it is the duty of the parents, and not the responsibility of the school
system, to teach the students matters of ethics. Another mistake is to assume that a
moral law cannot be taught without the use of religion. There are many logical,
non-religious reasons for following a moral code that is acceptable to this society. If
you don't agree to follow the morals of the rest of the citizens, you will quickly be
incarcerated. Students are entitled to the right to express their religious beliefs in
school, but it is unconstitutional for the administration to endorse or discriminate
against any religion. Due to this interpretation, the practice of coercive prayer is
unconstitutional, and should be kept forever separated from our nation's schools. 
The purpose of public schools is to educate, not indoctrinate. Schoolchildren are a
captive audience. How can a grade school student view the routine presentation of prayers
during the school day as a voluntary action? This invasive practice would create
unnecessary divisions among children by making them unduly aware of their religious
differences. Public schools are for everyone, whether they are Buddhist, Catholic, or
Muslim. The practice of organized prayer in schools invades the student's right to an
education free of the discrimination which organized prayer would encourage.
Many people mistake the religious indifference of public schools for hostility. Public
schools must be very careful to neither discriminate for or against any single religion,
and people often incorrectly perceive the schools attitudes toward religion. The
non-discrimination requirement may seem wrong to many, but when religion has a home in
public schools, it singles out the student who disagrees with the theology being taught.
Prior to the Supreme Courts decisions against school prayer, it was standard practice to
put the students who didn't agree with the theology being taught in places of detention
during Bible readings and prayers. 
Often, debaters in favor of coercive prayer in school feel themselves compelled to quote
statistics and percentages. This practice is not usually useful to the debate in general
because there is rarely any proof to link the rampant rise of sin with the practice of
school-endorsed prayer. Since the court outlawed prayer divorce doubled, teenage
pregnancy went up 200%, teen suicide went up 300%, and abortion increased 1000%. There is
a strong correlation between the expulsion of prayer from our schools and the decline in
morality. The question one must ask is, "What do these things have to do with the ban on
coercive prayer?" There is no cause and effect relationship between the ban on faculty
endorsed prayer in school and an increase of activities considered immoral. The
connection between the above practices and the ban of organized prayer is best debatable.

The original intent of public schools is outdated. A another line of reasoning involves
the theory that public schools in the United States were originally organized by early
settlers to teach children to read and write with the intent to further the settlers
religion, and the established system worked well for almost two hundred years. During the
early years of public schooling, everyone who attended school shared the same beliefs.
Today, an infinite number of religious groups are represented in our nations public
schools. It would be a grave injustice to cater to one, only to risk offending all those
who have been excluded. Once an institution is outdated and no longer contributing to
society, it must be modified or eliminated. 
Should the courts ever reverse their interpretation of the First Amendment, it would
threaten the very diversity of beliefs, which the United States of America has always
maintained. If Buddhist schoolchildren were forced to listen to the Lord's Prayer every
morning, the school would be undermining the parent's right to teach religion to their
children as the parent's see fit. If, during the act of coercive prayer, administrators
isolated students who maintained beliefs different from those practiced by the majority
from their classmates, the administration would be facilitating the opening of an
emotional and social rift between the students of different religious sects. This runs
contrary to the purpose of public schools, whose function is not only to educate, but
also to aid in social development. The First Amendment states very plainly that Congress
is not allowed to make any law which involves the establishment of religion or interferes
with the right of the citizens of this country to freely practice the religion of their
choice. 
After hearing arguments in favor of coercive prayer in public schools, there has yet to
be an indisputable argument based entirely on established facts. The ranks of those who
are in favor of the practice seem to be mostly comprised of conservatives who see the
Supreme Court's ban as a threat to their practice of evangelizing those of other
religions in order to swell their own ranks. Even though this country is based upon the
principle of majority rule, it is reassuring to see that the minority does have a chance
for justice. Even though the Supreme Court has set a precedent, there will be many cases
respecting coercive prayer brought before courts throughout the country for as long as
this country stands. Thus the public is urged to protect themselves from the act of
organized school prayer. Keep coercive prayer out of our public schools forever!