Prayer in Schools

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Prayer and the Public
Schools
Most people of faith understand
that personal issues of prayer when
manipulated by government can
lead to dangerous consequences,
including exclusion, octracization
and even violence. For this reason
the faith groups represented in this
work diligently to make sure that
individual conscience is respected
by rejecting calls for laws to
mandate prayer in the public
schools.
 Recent Court Decisions about
Prayer in Schools
By the 1990s the courts began
addressing prayer at school
extracurricular events with less
clarity. While some courts allowed
student prayers from the podium at
graduation exercises, a federal
appellate court in Houston ruled in
1999 that the recent controversy
has revolved around prayer at
school athletics events. Guidance
was provided by the Supreme
Court in
Santa Fe Independent School Dist.
v. Doe
[2000] when it upheld a lower
court ruling invalidating prayers
conducted over the public address
system prior to high school games
at state school facilities before a
school-gathered audience.
 Continued from Slide 2
Those in favor of sponsored prayer
in state schools publicly often say
that "prayer" is forbidden in state
schools. [1] Prayer is not and never
has been forbidden. Regarding the
Free Exercise Clause of the First
Amendment
, the courts have consistently ruled
that students' expressions of
religious views through prayer or
otherwise cannot be abridged unless
they can be shown to cause
substantial disruption in the school.
Reinstatement of state-sponsored
prayer has been attempted in
different forms in a number of areas
of the U.S. Some introduced a
"moment of silence" or "moment of
reflection" when a student may, if
he or she wishes to, offer a silent
prayer.
ACLU on Constitutional Amendment
on School Prayer Or Moment of
Silence (2002)
Some, like former Secretary of
Education William Bennett blame
the 1962 decision, Engel v. Vitale,
banning official prayer from public
schools, for everything from low SAT
scores to high teenage pregnancy
rates. But many educators and other
experts tell us that these problems
flow from the enormous and
increasing gulf in wealth and
opportunity and education, between
the richest and poorest people in our
society. A one-minute prayer or
moment of silence in school everyday
will do nothing to change that.
 Prayer at Graduation Ceremonies
Recently, some high schools have
banned prayer from graduation
ceremonies. In May 2006, the
ACLU of Tennessee convinced
Munford High School 's principal to
ban official prayer at
graduation.[2] In response,
students pulled out cards with the
Lord's Prayer written on them and
began to read. Also, some have
concluded that the school's ACLU
club faculty adviser has lost her
job over the incident.[3]
 In Different Regions of the
World
United Kingdom
In England and Wales, the School Standards
and Framework Act 1998 states that all pupils
in state schools must take part in a daily act of
collective worship, unless their parents request
that they be excused from attending.[1] The
majority of these acts of collective worship are
required to be "wholly or mainly of a broadly
Christian character", with two exceptions:
Religious schools, which should provide
worship appropriate to the school's religion
(although most religious schools in the UK are
Christian.)
Schools where the Local Education Authority's
Standing Advisory Council on Religious
Education has determined that Christian
worship would not be appropriate for part or all
of the school.
Despite there being a statutory requirement for
schools to hold a daily act of collective worship,
many do not. OFSTED's 2002-03 annual report
[2], for example, states that 80% of secondary
schools are failing to provide daily worship for
all pupils
 The History of Prayer in Schools
School Sponsored or Employee- Led Prayer.
More than40 years ago, the U.S. Supreme
Court handed down two major school prayer
decisions. The first, Engel v. Vitale(1962),
involved a denominationally neutral prayer
composed by the New York State Board of
Regents: Almighty God, we acknowledge
our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy
blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers,
and our Country. The second case, School
District of Abington v. Schempp (1963),
involved state laws requiring selection and
reading of passages from the Bible and
recitation of the Lords Prayer. The Court
ruled against the state- endorsed prayers in
both cases. Since the state had in effect made
a law respecting an establishment of religion
in these cases, the Court ruled that the
Constitution was violated.
 Doe vs. Duncanville ISD
In 1995 the Fifth Circuit ruled in a long running
case involving the Duncanville I.S.D. that school
districts and their employees may not lead,
encourage, promote, or participate in prayers with
or among students during curricular or
extracurricular activities, including before, during,
or after- school related sporting events (Doe v.
Duncanville I.S.D., known as Duncanville II). The
appeals court rejected the contention that such a
restriction denies school employees a constitutional
right to join students in prayer activities.
Participation by coaches and other school
employees would signal an unconstitutional
endorsement of religion, the court noted, since
they are representatives of the school. However,
employees are not required to leave the room when
students pray on their own, or otherwise treat
student religious beliefs with disrespect. In short
the law is clear that neither the public school nor its
employees may sponsor prayer at school or at
extracurricular activities and athletic events.
 The Lee Case: Clear Creek ISD
When it decided the Lee case, the Supreme
Court returned a somewhat similar case to the
Fifth Circuit. In that case the Fifth Circuit had
upheld the Clear Creek I.S.D. school boards
resolution leaving the inclusion of invocation
and benediction at graduation exercises to the
discretion of the senior class. Under the
resolution, if the senior class votes in the
affirmative, then an invocation and benediction
can be given by a student volunteer. T He
message must be nonsectarian and
nonproselytizing. The Fifth Circuit pointed out
that, unlike the disfavored Lee practice, the
Clear Creek prayer program did not implicate
school officials in prayer decision-making and
did not have the same psychologically coercive
effect on objecting students. The ruling was
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which
refused to hear it in June of 1993, thus leaving
the Fifth Circuit decision standing.
 Overall Conclusion
Both the federal courts and the Texas
Education Code recognize that students
can engage in personal prayer at school
and at school-sponsored extracurricular
and athletic events separate and apart from
school involvement. In Doe v. Duncanville
I.S.D. I, the trial court pointed out that
Students may voluntarily pray together,
provided such prayer is not done with
school participation. The judge added,
Athletes may pray before or after the
games, but again , the activity must not
suggest that school officials are
sponsoring or participating in the prayer in
any manner. The Fifth Circuit affirmed
the decision. TEC 25.901 declares that a
public school student has an absolute
right to pray or meditate in school in a
nondisruptive manner.
 Credits
Prayer in Schools
Course ADMIN: 5023/ Prairie View A&M University
Professor: Dr. Petterway
By: Lelia Jones

Sources
http://www.cleffpublishing.com/articles/jj122902.htm
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/church-
state/prayer.html