History Of Prayer In School
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Prayer in public school has been a foundational act since public educational institutions were first begun, and in fact for many years prior. The history of prayer in public school outlines what prayers were given and when, and why and when prayer was removed from public places of learning. Very recently, prayer in public learning environments was ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court to be unconstitutional, because it violated the separation of church and state. The ruling was to allow personnel to lead prayer in public educational institutions was to hold an audience captive to a certain religion or religious belief, which was undermining the choices of individuals who may not subscribe to a particular religion or faith. Consequently praying was removed in 1962.
It is interesting to note in considering the history of prayer in school, that the seminal case precipitating the 1962 decision was brought by Madelyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist who stated that her very young child was offended when asked to repeat a prayer in public school. Quite frankly, one could ask themselves why a child so young would really have the presence of mind to consider a question of such philosophic significance. Most children under the age of 10 have not had enough education to understand why the subject would be offensive. One could infer from the comment of Ms. O'Hair regarding her child's feelings that she was projecting her philosophy onto her child for the sake of bringing suit against the state. Regardless of the underlying cause of the suit, the court ruled in favor of removing praying from public learning environments.
Many view praying in public school a device to raise the consciences of children to the existence of a higher being who expects civil and moral behavior of those who were created - namely everyone. A proclivity to a higher moral behavior has almost always, until recently, been viewed as a good thing, effectively putting restraint on immoral behaviors of children who do not know how yet to behave towards fellow human beings. Children who were attendant in educational institutions prior to the 1962 decision were in the whole, very well behaved not only at home, but also at school and in public. Jesus told his disciples to pray: "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you:" (Matthew 7:7 KJV).
Morality as taught by a higher being teaches that submission to a moral authority or any authority for that matter, is the duty of all human beings to uphold a decent and law-abiding society. Since the 1962 decision, there has been observed a very marked decline in the behavior of children of all ages within the U.S. public educational systems. The decline has been obviated in the degrading behaviors and foul language that has developed since that time, witnessed to by school teachers, administrators, parents and social institutions. Most recently are the extremely violent criminal behaviors exhibited by seriously depressed and mentally scarred children who used guns to slaughter fellow classmates in cold blood.
The decision to remove prayer in public school is taken by students today as an occasion to buck authority, saying that school authority figures cannot tell them what to do or they'll sue! While the public school praying issue is not the one reason for this bad behavior, it certainly set in motion other cases regarding the right of children to decide for themselves how they will act in public schools and elsewhere. Children are too young to make moral decisions and must be taught the proper and respectful way to behave not only to parents, but to teachers, school authorities and in the social setting. Parents have all but given up on the issues because the state has stepped in and tied the hands of teachers from taking disciplinary action against children who behave badly. Therefore, discipline has all but disappeared in public learning environments. This is why prayer in school is so important. Praying teaches thankfulness to a creator, and inferring that people are morally accountable to God and to all other people as well for personal behavior.
The history of prayer in school is an extremely important issue which should be openly discussed, not for the sake of argument, but to honestly discuss the positive effects praying has on people. Nowhere can one read about any negative effects of praying on anyone, except on those who do not want to be accountable and enjoy treating others with disrespect. By not holding all people accountable for bad behavior, it essentially leaves the door open to ever worsening and even criminal behavior in the classroom, the last place where it is desired. Learning cannot take place in a disruptive classroom where students disrespect the teachers and fellow students. Studies have shown that those patients who are prayed over after operations get better much quicker than those patients who are not prayed over. Praying shows concern and respect for the individual. Therefore praying in educational institutions can also bring back concern and respect for others. Studying the history of prayer in school would open the eyes of students to its importance.
The history of prayer in school is available almost anywhere one searches: in the library, on the internet, in encyclopedias and in church libraries. Christian, secular, and even humanist magazines contain articles on the subject of prayer, which should be considered and understood against the ideas and opinions of others. Much information can also be gleaned in law libraries, available in most universities that have a law facility. For those who do not think prayer belongs in educational places, think about the fact that this country was founded on religious moral principals, and even our country's highest institutions have references to the Bible, the Ten Commandments and prayers engraved in floors and hallways. The reason they are there is because our founding fathers of the U.S. knew the importance belief in God is to maintaining a government whose service is to the people and not itself.
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