Is school prayer constitutional based on the 1st amendment?
First let me be Clear I am not a member of the religious right and havn't been to church in yrs. I am a constitutionalist. First i find it of nocoincidence that the fouding fathers grouped religion in with free speach, free press and free assembly. Many of you have learned about the separation of church and stat but few actually know exactly what the constituion says and more on what is taught in schools and reported on the news. !st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances The historians among us know that it is through Judicial means that prayer in Public buildings ie schools was percieved as tacit approval of a religion and this is how modern law hads come into being But I am reffering to original intent.
Do you think that prayer in public schools is permitted or disallowed?
It should not be allowed in a public school. The First Amendment says: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" An official time to pray in a public school means that kids who don't believe are subjected to an officially sanction time to pray, which goes against their beliefs. And the school can't take the time to separate all the kids into separate groups for each belief - it would cost them valuable time that they need for their curriculum. If parents want their kids to have a grounding in religion, they should take that on themselves, either by teaching the kids themselves, sending them to a parochial school, or sending them to a religious education program.
Is prayer allowed in public schools?
The old joke in the US is that as long as there are tests there will be prayer in school. :pI live in the most conservative and religious region in the US. Every school I know of has a Christian student's association. This group holds prayer before or after school. The students direct the prayers. Teachers can participate but they don't lead prayers. Also, local church groups sponsor or co-sponsor charity activities on campus (food drives, blood collection, etc.) and are allowed to announce activities for kids at the churches via the administration if they are board approved as school related, ie prayer breakfasts organized by the student association before school hours, after hours alcohol free events for homecoming and prom, etc..
Republicans, do you really want prayer back in schools?
How would you carry out this plan exactly? I attended a very multicultural high school in which we had a significant amount of Christians, Buddhists (we had a lot of Asians), Muslims, and non religious people. In a high school like this, which god would you want them to pray to? Not only that, but during announcements, they always gave us a moment of silence before the pledge of allegiance in case anybody did want to pray. What is wrong with that system? The 1st amendment clearly states that we cannot favor one religion. Do you respect the constitution or not?
Reasons Against Teaching Creationism in Schools?
The only reason there's a "controversy" in the first place is because creationism proponents won't show the hell up about it already. That's it. They have an agenda that they're trying to push, and you can get an understanding of it if you go look up "the wedge strategy." They make their goals and dishonesty quite clear for anybody who wishes to read about it. It'd be no different if there was a well-funded group of people trying to promote outdated concepts like teaching astrology alongside astronomy, or alchemy alongside chemistry. It's a violation of separation of the First Amendment because it would show government-endorsed favoritism of one religious belief over another. It doesn't promote teaching Zoroastrian creationism, Islamic creationism, or Hindu creationism - just specific Christian creationism. They will lie and pretend that it's just an all-around deistic concept which they slap the "intelligent design" label onto, but one peek under the hood reveals than it's all just Christian nonsense. Whether or not it offends people is irrelevant, though. Evolution offends people, most uneducated dimwits who have been duped by dishonest creationist assholes like Michael Behe and Bill Dembski, but nonetheless they're "offended" by the idea of having evolved ""from a monkey"" as these dipshits so eloquently put it.