Prayer in School - Part 1 "Prayer is illegal! What?"

As a teacher, a member of an evangelical church, and part of a family that has Christian roots, I get a pretty good view of the whole "Separation of Church and State" debate from several sides - fellow teachers, students, administrators, ministers, citizens of all stripe, and my own family. Most issues have more or less predictable and logical battle lines. But, when the issue of Prayer in School comes up, I tend to get ready for some hard core tongue-biting because I find myself outside the traditional camp.

In Christian circles the topic usually comes up in the form of a sarcastic, somewhat bitter lament. "Well, you can't even pray in school anymore!" or, my personal favorite (sarcasm intended), "They've taken God out of Schools." The understanding that seems to be pervasive among Christians is that somehow a law now exists (and is being enforced) that says prayer will not be tolerated. The image of children being rapped on the back of their little bowed heads comes to mind. You can imagine the cafeteria monitors trying to ferret out those that might say grace.

In reality, Prayer, per se, has not been affected at all. The only thing that has drawn the attention of our laws and courts is Mandating Prayer. Let's make this clear: "praying" - legal, "forcing others to pray" - not legal. If its still not clear, take this as an example. Little Billy praying in school is legal. Principal Smith praying in school is legal. Principal Smith requiring Little Billy to pray is NOT legal.

The issue here is not prayer. It is about coercion. Schools and their employees are "agents of The State." The 1st Amendment says The State shall not "establish" any one religion. No one minds the individual volunteering to pray, but when the school as an agent of The State requires its students to adhere to a religion or religious activity, it is tantamount to establishing that particular religion.

So. Students, Teachers - pray! Pray often! It's perfectly legal! Just don't try to use the State to coerce others to do so!

Keep the faith!

Getting Started

I've never blogged before.

...Wow that wasn't hard. Just started typing and there it is: a posting. This should be easy. Now, what to blog about? ...