Prayer In Public Schools

1201 Words5 Pages
Should mandatory (voluntary) prayer be permitted in public schools? For me going to school everyday reciting a prayer and the pledge of allegiance was a normal occurrence it kept me grounded. Prayer in schools dates back to Colonial America because schools were mostly run by the churches. Americans felt that it was important that children learn to read so they could read their bibles. Learning right from wrong and developing good moral character was as important as learning the 3R’s. In 1690 the New England Primer was introduced which taught spelling, reading and the Alphabet using Bible verses. Daily school prayer was a natural part of this educational system. Noah Webster introduced the Blue Book Speller after the American Revolution, which also used Bible versed to teach reading and spelling. In 1836 the McGuffey Reader was introduced which also featured Bible versed to teach moral values. The school system using the Bible produced some of the brightest inventors and set the Industrial Revolution in motion. The 20th Century brought about change as many churches turned their school over to the State run educational system. However, the State run school still used the McGuffey reader with its Bible verses to teach moral values. At this time America had one of the best school systems in the world. That was about to change when in 1925 the ACLU paid a teacher from Tennessee to teach Evolution. Biblical creation has been taught through out the land, and teaching evolution was against Tennessee state law. ACLU lost the case however; it set in motion a re-evaluating of teaching. How the table turned teaching Creation is outlawed and teaching Evolution is mandatory. In 1948 the Supreme Court used the “Separation of Church and State” argument to outlaw school prayer. In 1962 the Supreme Court again declared that prayer in school was

More about Prayer In Public Schools

Open Document