If each adult person or the parents of younger student took it upon themselves to be more Christ-like and build their foundation of education to glorify God, they would choose the Christian Education over the Public Education, which is controlled by the state. Having being educated in the Public and Christian Education System, I’ve learned that the
Over the past decade many revisions have been made to how people publicly celebrate their faith. Church and state cases have been continues throughout history ranging from whether Jehovah witnesses should be excused from saluting the American flag to whether religious symbols and sayings should be in government buildings or not. The lack of clarification which the term separation of church and state provides sets an unclear message to what the term actually means. The U.S. is a very religious country with religions spanning across the world. Separation of church and state is meant to keep religious freedom while keeping it out of both politics and people with separate religions.
However, before the revolution many different religions were still being discriminated against with voting and public funds, some people in Massachusetts were even jailed for refusing to pay taxes to support their local ministers. The end of the British rule immediately caused people to question the privileged position associated with Anglican churches. Some people would demand relief from taxes because of this religious group. Because of majority of wars to be over religious beliefs , many leaders in the revolution claimed it was dire for the “new nation” to avoid conflicts about religious differences influenced from the past three centuries. Thus separation of church and state came into play, with hopes of keeping public morality and avoiding corrupting embrace from the government.
in Biema 42). There is no law against using the Bible in schools; teaching the Bible in public schools should be acceptable as long as the course is neutral in its approach. Students with an understanding of the Bible may have an advantage in academia due to its many references in history and literature. Many people argue that teaching the Bible in the public school is unconstitutional and say that it violates one’s first amendment right. Stephen Prothero, chair of the Boston University religion department, argues that he has “never seen a Bible-literacy course change anyone’s faith one way or another” (qtd.
William Barnard WR 121 Essay 1.2 10/18/10 Censorship in Schools: Ignoring The First Amendment Since 1980 Judy Blume, famous author of multiple “banned” books, once wrote, regarding how one feels when a piece of their work gets censored, “Chilling. It’s easy to become discouraged, to second- guess everything you write.”* Blume wrote this in the introduction of a book she edited about censorship. Blume, having experienced the feeling of having her work censored many times is an expert on this subject. Censorship in schools is bad for not only does it discourage writers, it limits what students can read, write, and most importantly, learn about. Books should not be banned in schools, because they teach valuable life lessons that students should learn before adulthood.
Running Head: Engel v Vital: The Battle of School Prayer The Battle of School Prayer Lisa Stanley Liberty University Engel v Vitale: The Battle of School Prayer The Battle of School Prayer Religion is one of the most debated topics of American life and history. This Country is founded upon the idea of freedom and religion. America was founded upon the idea that religion was the choice of the individual person and not a requirement of the government. Public schools have became the center of debate for religion and the when’s and where’s of how to observe someone’s faith. The most memorable case was Engel v Vitale which became the battle of school prayer and the first of its kind in our legal system.
Prayer in public schools is becoming a hotly disputed topic. Congress might amend the Constitution to allow prayer in public schools. I am against this idea. Some people agree that prayer in public schools is censored and belittles their faith, but I will argue that public schools are supposed to be fair and need to respect the rights of everyone. Supporters of this idea state that we are stifling spiritual beliefs and teaching children to be disrespectful towards religion.
The Schools are destroying Freedom of Speech According to the article written by John W. Whitehead, “The Schools are Destroying Freedom of Speech,” John W. Whitehead stated that teachers are hindering students from learning or being allowed to exercise their constitutional rights. Schools don’t have the right or authority to hinder students from not offend or cause harm to others. There were two occasions documented and went as far as to the Supreme Court, how teachers and administrations pulled the plug on several valedictorian students during graduations; while sharing a censored speech on their religion and their feelings, (John W. Whitehead, 2009). On occasions, teachers and administrators reviewed and had students to take out what they thought would affect the audience or what was against certain regulations of the school. However, the students felt the need to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings in the way they felt.
Prothero has argued for mandatory courses on religion in public schools. Stephen Prothero’s essay, “A Nation of Religious Illiterates” appeared on The Christian Science Monitor on January 20, 2005. In this essay Prothero aims to convey to his readers the importance of being knowledgeable and understanding religion. “Americans - of both the religious and the secular variety - need to understand religion” (Prothero). In this article Prothero blames America’s religious ignorance on our schools.
The place of religion in the public square is a debatable topic. In essence, the dispute centers on the fundamental question: should religious beliefs be excluded from consideration of public policy? That is to say, if society strongly believes that the state should not adopt or implement religious positions, views or policies; to what extent should religious ideologies or concepts be used to publicly support or oppose governmental actions? I believe religion is an important necessity of our society and should be included in everything. I believe religion is a very important part of the American society but should GOD have to compete with evolution if every dollar has God on it why is evolution being taught in schools and religion being short changed most of the time now.