Should prayer be allowed in public school?

Answer 1

It *IS* allowed, with some restrictions.

You can read all about it at the Department of Education website, here:

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html

I'm fine with the limitations that have been set.

Answer 2

An individual should be allowed to pray silently wherever they might be. There should be no time set aside for prayer in a state institution, nor should anything of a religious nature ever be discussed in a public school, nor any other state-influenced institution. A school is a place to learn how to think more reasonably and to gain knowledge, not a place to discuss unreasonable beliefs in religion, unless it is taught as it truly is... mythology.

Edit: Hmm... it appears that a lot of your answerers have misread the question. It's not "Is prayer allowed in school"... rather, it is "SHOULD prayer be allowed in school".
I wonder if they were too busy praying in school to learn good reading comprehension.

Answer 3

Once again...once again...prayer is not disallowed in public schools. Pray till the cows come home! What is not allowed is for the state, the government, to play any role at all in selecting or delivering prayer in public schools. For crying out loud, pal, how many times must this be explained?

Answer 4

Actually it is allowed. A person can pray in a public school. It is not allowed for a teacher or anyone employed by the school to lead in prayer or require it. You are not allowed to disrupt a class with prayer...it has to be during lunch or breaks, or between classes, before or after school. If you pray silently, no one can stop you.

:(|)

AD

Answer 5

As long as prayers from ALL religions are allowed AND as long as those who do not wish to pray are allowed to NOT pray.

Unless it is a RELIGIOUS-Sponsored school, prayer in any specific format cannot be MANDATED by the school. Nor can the school FORBID any specific form of prayer as long as it does not cause disruption to the learning environment.

Answer 6

Prayer is allowed in public schools.

Officially sanctioned prayer that everyone must participate in, is not.

Answer 7

Yes. As a matter of fact there is still prayer in schools.

As long as there are tests there will be prayer in schools!

Answer 8

I agree with TriadBeast. It should be done privately. If a student wants to internally pray before a test, or whenever he or she wants, that's fine. It's when there is a designated "prayer time" or a teacher-led prayer that it becomes inappropriate and unconstitutional.

Answer 9

It's already allowed; no one can see inside your head.

Do you mean "should prayer be allowed to the point where other students have to listen to it?" No. Absolutely not.

Do you mean "prayer should be not only be allowed, but compulsory." Absolutely not.

I don't want my child exposed to the superstitious claptrap nor do I want my tax dollars going to support religion.

Answer 10

It IS allowed in public schools....just not during instructional time. it can be done -- out loud even -- before school, after school, during any "break" in the school day.

However, it cannot be mandated by the school.

Students MUST be allowed to wear religious their garb....yarmulke, hijab, etc. Teachers MAY wear religious symbols/garb but the administration has the right to not allow them to....they do not have to be accommodated.

If the principal allows students to pass out Avon books, flyers for the local pizza parlor or skating rink, it MUST allow students to hand out religious ephemera. If there is a clear-cut policy of NOBODY handing out anything at all, then no-one can distribute religious stuff, either.

-- School Teacher

Teachers can indeed put up non-religious Christmas symbols.....tree, wreath, bells, candy canes, etc. Jews MUST be allowed to put up Hanukkah menoria and Muslims to post what they want for Ramadan -- as long as it is secular in appearance. A menorah is not considered by the ACLU as a religious symbol.

Any holiday parties to be celebrated in school MUST be announced in advance to allow for those who do not celebrate them -- even birthday parties -- to plan for a day off. The Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays/holidays. I found out that leftover Halloween candy bought at deep discount after the fact and given out to kids as prizes can be offensive to some kids who do not celebrate Halloween.