Should the people of New York be able to require public students to pray this at the beginning of the school day?
“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.” Prayer from NY schools declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1962 (in Engel v. Vitale).
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17 comments:
Yes I beleive students should pray before each day of class. This habit can not do any harm if it is done in a descrete manor.
Students, however, must not be required to pray to a certain religious deity, that would be against the First Amendment.
From my opinion, students in new york should not be required to say the prayer. First of all their parents might not beleive in religion or in the prayer they are making them say. Second religion is suppose to be voluntary, specially in a public school. in a public school you have students from all different races and from different religions.
I think that public school students shouldn't be REQUIRED to pray this. The prayer could be incorporated into the schools agenda but students should have the "liberties" to choose whether they want to pray this or not. To me this prayer doesn't go against any specific religion because most religions have similar beliefs in a god and his blessings.
Constitutionally the people of New York have the right to require such a prayer. Now on the question if it is right, no I do not believe it is right to REQUIRE students to participate. Of my own personal views of religion, it is not something that should be unwillingly pushed upon someone else. You can't make someone a Christian or Muslim by forcing them. That is the best way to deter people in my opinion.
Kari B.
The people of New York are thinking in requiring public students to recite this paragraph every morning, and I do not see why not. It is just one sentence that says thanks the God who gave humans the life, liberty and property rights according to the third president of the White House: Thomas Jefferson, and it also mentions to protect the students and the people around them. I do not know specifically how this will be implemented on a daily basis, but I assume that children would not be force to pronounce the sentence. For instance, the kids who are polytheists, atheists, or believe in a different concept can be silent while the other students are praying.
Ana M.
No i do not think that the people of New York should be able to require public students to pray because there may be students of different religions who may be offended by this requirement,and who may feel like a religion is being forced upon them. Constitutionally they can make that requirement, but it's not morally advisable. PF
Constitutionally the state of New York should be (does) have the right to do this without interference from the Federal Government. However, hardly anyone agrees that this particular prayer should be used.
Although, as a Christian I feel that your faith and religion is by far the most important thing in your life, I think that making someone recite a certain prayer will cause a lot of chaos. It is one thing to allow a student to pray in school and then another to make them recite the same thing as everyone else. Even when you are Christian, someone should pray what they feel not what they are told. I think that if in the morning, 15 minutes is set aside for the whole group to pray to whomever is a great idea, but for some religions, using "Almighty God" is not a fair thing to do. It is inappropriate and in my opinion unconstitutional.
I think the states should be able to decide if this kind of prayer should be recited in school. The Constitution clearly leaves this authority in the hands of the states, so while I don't necessarily agree that prayer is something that should be forced if that's what the people of New York want to do, they should be able to do it without interference from the Federal Government.
I don't think it should be required; people have their own beliefs and prayers they follow. Schools should just stick to 'a moment of silence' so kids are able to do their own personal prayers instead of something they are made to do.
Sarah M.
I do not believe that that students should be FORCED. They should have the option, but I don't think it should be mandatory. My reasons for saying no is because not everyone believes in one God. I also feel that it could make students and even teachers uncomfortable. I remember during class someone said "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." I completely agree with this statement and that is why I prefer the moment of silence as opposed to saying a specific prayer that may not be suitable for everyone.
Arafath I.
I don't think there's should be any law prohibiting anyone from perforning prayer before, after, or during games. Muslims are suppose to pray 5 times a day and if the game is schedule of prayer time then the muslim person might perform his prayer before or after the game.
I don't think the people of New York should be able to require public students to pray this prayer at the beginning of the school day. First of all, not everyone is a Christian or believes in God. Also it is a public school, and not a private school that requires you to do anything ask to do. It could make students and teachers very uncomfortable, and most importantly it violates the first amendment.
I think that this decision should be up to the state courts to decide. However, I don't think that it's right to require students to pray to any god in schools. Students should have the right to think for themselves and not be forced to repeat spoon-fed information. This goes not only for items of religion but any information for that matter. We should be teaching students to make their own decisions and not support the decisions of a majority.
Kevin V
I believe it is not right to say this prayer befor class. For one, not everyone is Christian. A student may not directly come out and say anything most of the time but more than likely their parents will. I could understand if this was a private school but it is not. A public school makes it hard for any religious practices to occur as time goes on. Another reason I say no is because it might make the students and teachers uncomfortable to know that some in the class do no agree with whats being said if they do not follow Christianity. And lastly, it violates the First Amendment. The student may have the choice to walk out of class but it still is looked down upon by classmates which may cause scrutiny in the long run.
Sonya N
No I don't agree with this decision. The city should not only be thinking of the majority of the people's decision, the should also take concern of what the minority think. The city should remember that not all the student share the same faith, many different cultures and believes exist so this should be left based on the parent't decision.
Personally I think it is a sweet reaffirming thing to have children pray before their day at school, but do not feel that it is acceptable to "require" kids to pray.
It is unfortunate that every aspect of religion has been taken out of our public lives because of recent rulings by the Supreme Court. How else are children supposed to learn that they are loved and accepted by their creater...and the difference between and wrong, beyond getting in trouble by their teachers or parents?
There is a greater power working in their lives and he expects big things from you.
Not being able to say a prayer before a football game is digraceful and unfortunate. I wish there was a compromise!
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