im exaggerating a bit here but about prayer at school...?

Question

why would they want to "announce" that they are praying publicly? cant they pray before going to school? they can also use up more than an hour of praying if they want...

surely you can meditate on your own before the teacher arrives or even while she's teaching. i understand the it's not so that people can see you praying... you can do it during recess or lunchtime too.

i dont think it's illegal to pray in school now... you dont need to ring a bell and announce it's prayer time...

Answer 1

Legally a public school cannot lead a prayer, but private religious schools can.

My problem with all this is the Christian's need for that verbal prayer. It is meant to bring everything to a halt and make a public statement that their religion and their prayers are more important than anything else. A moment of silence isn't good enough.

I have always felt that children go to school to learn the basics so they can either continue their education in college or for them to complete school and enter the work force. Children go to church to learn about their religious heritage and learn the mores (morals) of their religion and how to apply those to daily life. Unless they are going to a religious school then they should not expect to learn about their religion.

This is an old fight and the time and money wasted on adapting schools to teach non-scientific and common school classes to make one religion happy is discrimination and it makes a statement to the whole culture here in the US that freedom of religion was only meant to be freedom of Christian based religion. There are two other mainstream religions and a multitude of smaller ones who don't agree. So as Americans we must pander to this one religion and ignor the rest?

The United States was founded on the basis of freedom of religion, not the freedom of one religion's multiple denominations. "One Nation under God." Not one nation under one God, or one nation under "a" God. Even the statement on our currency says, "In God We Trust," which once again that God is left open. Not a God, our God or the God but whichever God or deity that each person holds dear.

If you understand this to mean the Christian God then my question to you is this... tell the government to change these statements to reflect that it means the Christian God and see how long it takes for people to sue the government for discrimination! Either support all people's beliefs or no one's beliefs!

I leap off my soapbox...

Answer 2

Some groups feel that just like we say the Pledge at the beginning of the day, we should also start the day with a prayer. Even as a Christian, I'm not in favor of it. If you really want to push it, have 2 minutes of quiet time that everyone can say their own prayer or not! I would never stand up in the front of my classroom and ask my students to pray with me.... totally absurd.
Now, my pin that I always wore on test days....
"As long as there are tests, there will always be prayer in school."
Only had one wacko find it offensive, but then again she found everything offensive! The principal... he loved it! You show me an 8th grader who is NOT praying/ pleading/asking for divine guidance/whatever in the middle of an algebra exam!

Answer 3

They don't do that.
Who are you speaking of?
Who are you to tell someone not to pray at school? Why does it bug you? People do not kneel and bow their heads every time they pray. I can be looking at you and talking to you and be praying at the same time. You would never know it. Are you so offended by prayer that you want no one to be able to pray silently?
Why do you even care? I really don't get it.

No one rings a bell and announces PRAYER TIME.
There is a moment of silence....ONE MINUTE. No one has to pray. They can stand and think about the day or whatever.



How would you propose to enforce this restriction? There is no way you could do it. 1st Amendment.....

Answer 4

If you're talking about the question regarding a school system setting up a time for Muslims, it's a requirement of the religion, not really the persons deciding to do so publicly, I believe there are set times that a person has to pray.

Answer 5

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim - In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Hello. Well, as a Muslim, I understand the desire of Muslims to take time out in school to complete whatever parts of their prayers are due. But I agree that this is a slippery slope - once you let us set aside time for our prayers, then you have to start accomodating everyone. Really, the prayer times are flexible - you have a window of time for making, say the prayer that comes just after noon, zhur. Even in the winter when days are short, you can combine the noon and afternoon prayers if necessary or take five minutes for each - once during lunch, once during free time or play time or whatever time most schools have for unstructured activity. Administrators can be sensitive enough to allow for this without actually scheduling time for it.

I have a son who has been in public school the last two years. He is only seven so is not obligated to make the five prayers yet, but we did take him out on Fridays early to go to the Friday prayer with his father. Missing out on afternoon play or computer lab one day a week would hardly stunt his academic growth. This year I will be homeschooling so that is not an issue.

When a Muslim, by necessity or choice, comes to live in a non-Muslim country, he has to realize that compromises will be necessary. We are blessed in the US to have religious freedom, something many Muslims can't take for granted in so-called "Muslim" countries, so we should not rail against the system but learn to work within it, as long as our religious values are not being compromised. I don't think combining prayers or not praying immediately after the time for prayer arrives is too much of a compromise. If the issue is that important, than Muslims should be putting their children in Islamic schools. One reason I took my son out of public school is that I knew as he grew older the negative influences of society would be harder to resist there, and things like casual sex and drugs and all that are more important over the long run than having to combine prayers. Allah knows best.

I pray that Allah guides you to that which is best in this world and the next. Ameen.

Fi Aman Allah,

Nancy Umm Abdel Hamid

Answer 6

If students want to use any free time they might have at school to pray, that is their right. BUT, public schools should NOT set aside special time during the day specifically to allow religious activities. Public schools and teachers should not take any part whatsoever in religion among students during school time. The school day is meant for education and not religion.

Answer 7

It's not about letting Christian kids have religious freedom. As you've observed, they can pray at home, at church, and even at school (recess, lunch, whatever). What advocates of school prayer are trying to do is indoctrinate kids who are *not* Christian. They want school officials to lead the students in prayer (Christian only).

The court case that ended such prayers involved MANDATORY participation in school prayers.

Answer 8

you're definately suited. There are people who definately want christian prayer placed into faculties, as at school led prayers and geared up in prayer time for infants. in spite of the shown fact that, they do no longer choose to make certain a equipment that has yet another faith on top of issues. i will merely see a school it particularly is seventy 5% muslim or hindu with around 20% christian and 5% different that had a team that wanted to lead the college in muslim prayers. you comprehend that the christian portion of the college might very without postpone invoke the separation of church and state if so. it particularly is a double usual. I additionally trust you. teenagers can privately pray collectively as in college yet they won't be able to anticipate the college to recommend or sell their prayers. government desires to be non secular impartial. It won't be able to recommend or deny faith to everyone. To do distinctive will finally end up violating a man or woman's rights no count number the way you attempt to artwork it out. faith is a private factor and should no longer be performed via the government because of the fact faith isn't comparable to one man or woman to the subsequent. AmyM's reaction is somewhat frightening. it particularly is the clarification why we've a separation of church and state interior the US equipment. the government shouldn't in any respect tell those that they could desire to have faith in a god. the government shouldn't in any respect sell faith. to assert or perhaps mean "have faith or get out" is somewhat risky. How long previously it turns into "have faith or we imprison you"? Or "have faith or we kick you in a distant places u . s ."? Or "have faith or we torture you"? Or "have faith or we kill you"? people have a suited to have faith what they choose to have faith and the government does no longer have a suited to sell a single faith on the persons. the government desires to stay religous impartial. it may neither sell or deny faith.

Answer 9

Actually, in some states, "a moment of silence" is observed in public schools. Including where I live and work, Indiana.

Every morning, during homeroom, we have the morning announcements, the pledge (also forced by law) and a moment of silence.

Personally, I would rather have a moment of science, but silence is the law.

Answer 10

They do not want to pray they want to proselytize. Praying in school is legal and they know it. They want to force everyone to pray with them or at least hear the prayer to convert any children who are not already warped.