is that legal already?
2007-02-08 06:27:27 · 34 answers · asked by i totally agree with you!! not 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, & separation of church & state are getting very muddied up here. No, school is not the place for prayer. As much as some people make a fuss about this, think of what a fuss could be made if the teacher prays to one god, & there are kids who believe in other gods, or no gods. No one is being told not to pray, period. Pray in church, temple whatever, pray on your own time in your own "place," but not in school. There are well founded reasons for the separation of church & state. As for 9/11, children can be lovingly counseled without introducing "a god" into it.
2007-02-08 07:00:01 · answer #1 · answered by Psychic Cat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since it would be difficult to separate the teachers actions from those of the schools, I would think it best for the teacher to not pray out loud. A christian can pray without using audible words. If the teacher is a christian and would like to pray for a student(s), they can do so silently, maybe while the kids have study time during class (if the teacher feels the need to do so during class). With that said, I do not think it would be wrong if the teacher told the students that he/she prays for them daily. The teacher would not be instituting prayer on the students part, merely sharing that they are thinking of the students, same as telling them that he/she spoke about them to someone and what was said.
2007-02-08 06:38:32 · answer #2 · answered by shirewyn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They can do so internally all they like. However, they should take no action which specifically indicates that they are doing so.
It is one thing for a teacher to lower her head and silently speak to her deity while the students are reading or working on a test. It would be wholely inappropriate and illegal, however, for her to make her prayers known to the students.
Further, if the students had organized a group, and were having a private meeting, the teacher could attend it but could not lead it.
Make no mistake: Prayer was NOT taken out of schools. Only state-run and state-organized prayer was.
2007-02-08 06:33:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
There's nothing that says a teacher can't pray - but it does say that prayer can't be done in the classroom. However - if a teacher says a silent prayer - who will ever know that she did other than God and the teacher?
2007-02-08 06:34:48 · answer #4 · answered by lifesajoy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
While the state cannot and should not regulate prayer, visibly and audibly invoking a deity in the classroom or announcing the intent to do so is improper, and any teacher who refuses to comply should be dismissed. Unfortunately, the overly litigious US society, will have spend an inordinate amount of court time distinguishing between, "I pray to God that you'll get your act together.", and, "Dear Lord, please save this student from himself."
2007-02-08 06:40:14 · answer #5 · answered by novangelis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If that wasnt allowed it would be against freedom of religion, but since it would be a maluse of classtime, it would be a matter of the school district, but never a serious court case. The teaccher should be able to pray for her kids elsewhere.
If you mean that the KIDS should be allowed to pray, YES, but they shouldnt be forced to. They should have freedom of religion. Muslims have to pray several times a day so they should be able to go and pray when they want.
2007-02-08 06:33:27 · answer #6 · answered by YouCannotKnowUnlessUAsk 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If she does it quietly and doesn't announce to the class that she's doing it, then sure....that's perfectly legal. Anyone can pray in a public school so long as it is quiet and doesn't disrupt what everyone else is doing.
But if she's standing up in front of the class, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Oh Jesus, help these sinful children become Christians!", then she might get fired.
2007-02-08 06:33:13 · answer #7 · answered by mamasquirrel 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I most definitely think they should. Everybody needs prayers and it's a sad day when it becomes against the rules to do something as loving and sacred as praying for your brothers and sisters whether they are believers or not.
2007-02-08 07:03:57 · answer #8 · answered by Danny H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well she can pray in silence while the kids do there work and no one would know, I think if she got one her knees to pray and was caught she would most likely be dismissed
2007-02-08 06:46:48 · answer #9 · answered by man of ape 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, absolutely not! The only exception I can think of would be in an extreme circumstance, like 9/11 or school violence or one of the kids dying. I can imagine the kids needing something out of the ordinary for comfort then, and accept it. But in most cases, it just marginalizes some kids and makes them feel bad, which is definitely distracting from learning.
2007-02-08 06:35:22 · answer #10 · answered by GreenEyedLilo 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋