Is prayer needed in schools?

Question

Now I aint a religious person (at all), but I hear some of the followers of a god say that prayer is needed in schools to bring better order.

1.Do you feel that prayer is needed in schools?

2.Should religion be party of our school system?

I'd love to hear answers, either here or on myspace....don't matter to me.

Answer 1

Religion has NO place in schools.

Answer 2

Prayer is already part of schools. A student can pray at any time in school. Your real question is should the schools (i.e. the government) be allowed to promote prayer and religious ceremonies in school. For that I say NO. Something the christians fail to realize is that if public schools are opened to government sponsored religion ten they are opened to ALL religious beliefs. Most christians I've talked with only want THEIR views backed by the government but that is not necessarily what they will receive. It is best to keep any kind of religious doctrine OUT of the public schools.

Answer 3

No. Prayer has no place in school. I think it's a bad idea to introduce prayers in schools because children can be cruel to other kids that are different. While they can ignore atheism or another faith in a child under normal circumstances, if prayer is allowed, the difference if thrown in their faces every day. That would increase bullying and lead to harming an innocent child.

Also, with so many different religions, what prayers should the school include? Who will administer it?

Instead, let schools deal with formal education. Science, math, history etc. with some physical activity. Let the parents deal with religious studies.

Answer 4

I am religious, and in public schools I don't think it's necessary in a group setting...I mean if everyone on a sports team thinks is a good idea, then cool, I'm not against it - I just don't think it needs to be mandatory. I was always allowed to say my own personal, silent prayers, so that's all I really needed.

As far as religion being in our school system - I think classes should explore the literature and philosophies of many different religions (from a literary and social perspective) there's a lot to be gained and understood there.

Answer 5

I am a religious person, and I believe in prayer in schools, therefore when I have children, I will send them to PRIVATE school. Not everyone believes in prayer in schools, and I respect this-- but I still feel that what is lacking is MORALS and VALUES. I've taught in the public schools in the past, and I believe that even beginning the school day with a 10-minute lesson/roleplay on morals/values would make a world of difference in our children-- teaching them the importance of tolerance, patience, courtesy, etc. No matter if a person is Christian, Jewish, Buddist, Hindu, Islamic, Ba'Hai, Athiest, Baptist , etc-- everyone could benefit from good-old-fashioned MANNERS, VALUES and MORALS!

Answer 6

Rather than preach at you let me just say - in the days when prayer was a part of school classes - there were no students shooting or out and out murdering fellow classmates of the teachers. Such a thing was entirely rare. Fist fights and such were always common place but not murder.

Since prayer has been taken out of school, lack of respect for classmates and authority figures has grown and built to a head, resulting in what you see today. Certainly not every student is murderously out of control but numbers are there and can not be ignored.

Even if someone does not believe in God, one has to wonder what the difference is since schools abolished prayer. At the very minimal one would have to come to the conclusion that prayer must at least have been instilling some level of civil value, a frame of conscience, a knowledge of some level of barriers that should not be crossed.

You tell me. Should schools reinstate prayer in light of the evidence? Even if we did at this point, it would take another 30 years or more to get students back to a level of mutual respect. A band-aid wont fix it. Like any major disease, it sometimes takes repeated step by step treatments to heal the problem.

As for teaching religion in "PUBLIC" school - NO! (and I cant believe I'm saying this). If we did, what religion would we teach? Our school prayers when I was a kid - consisted of a general across the board type prayer and did not challenge another Christian denomination's teachings.

For example - I don't have the right to teach your child the Apostolic style belief system against your wishes. Or a Baptist might not want the Pentecostal ideology thrust on his or her child. Conflicts arise.

As far as Evolution vs Creation in public schools - BOTH should be taught side by side. A child has to have his choice of Apples and Oranges to make a qualified decision. Even at that -Evolution should not be taught until the child enters High-school or better yet, College.

AS the song says..., "Thats my story and I'm sticking to it."

Answer 7

There is a place for prayer. It's called a Church. If parents want their children raised in a religious manner, they can do it with their money, in their schools. I do NOT want my children praying about something I don't believe in. I want them to come to these decisions themselves....I don't need school prayer pushing them along. The issue isn't just IF there should be prayer. It's WHICH prayer. Since no one agrees there, it's best for everyone if there is just NO prayer.

Pray in your homes and Church...leave the PUBLIC schools alone.

Answer 8

Yes I think if anyone wants to pray in school then it should be allowed. I also think Muslims should be allowed to observe their prayer times on time in school whether it disrupts class or not. They're only missing 15 minutes of class. I also think if someone doesn't want to pray in class than they can read a book or find something else to do. I think all religions should be allowed to pray from Judaism to Satanism. As long as no one forces their beliefs on any other person of a different faith I don't see what the problem is with children and staff praying in schools.

Answer 9

1) ABSOLUTELY NOT. Why would we want our children to get brainwashed??? I want my son to grow up free, with his eyes, ears and mind wide open. Don't want him to become any religious system's slave, and don't want his intellect to be shut down. My son knows everything about EVERY MYTH = from the Sumerians, to the Egyptians, to the Greeks, to the Jews, Christians and Muslims. But he does understand (because he's been given the necessary tools) that recent Religions (the 3 monotheistic Faiths) are just inaccurate and that there's no immortal, omnipotent omnipresent god whatsoever up there. I'm teaching my son to seek answers through Science (be in History, Archaeology, Physics, Antropology, Genetics etc etc...) and NOT to believe anything just because someone said it. He's learning to READ, and ENHANCE his knowledge; because, you see, Religion (ANY religion) is based on IGNORANCE, and that's what we should try to defeat, educating our children, making them READ.

2) ABSOLUTELY NOT. Schools as well as parents (first of all) should teach children the main universal values which will make them become good human beings. Respect, tolerance, Solidarity, Loyalty, Honor, Selflessness are values that need NO RELIGION to be taught and learned. Both, parents and schools, should teach kids how to OPEN their minds and use their intellect.

Answer 10

What's needed in schools to bring better order is for parents to start teaching their kids some manners and respect for their elders. Then the parents have to allow the teachers to do their jobs without interfering every time little Johnny needs disciplined. When Johnny IS disciplined in school, the discipline needs to be continued at home, with the parent issuing a just punishment to fit the crime.

Parents need to spend less time at work (when possible) or in social engagements and start hanging with their kids. They need to talk about sex, drugs, drinking and peer pressure. Responsibilty for one's actions and for the family as a whole needs to be taught.They need to monitor their children's behavior and their friends.

In short, they need to be parents and allow the teachers to be authority figures. Prayer has nothing to do with it.

Answer 11

No. Schools have children of all faiths (or none) attending. It would violate the religous freedom of the kids (and their families) to lead kids in prayer.

Imagine if the religion being taught was not yours, then you might understand why it's wrong.