Lies of a Story Teller

Education vs. Religion

Religion and the Education System

            Once upon a time, there was a country named the United States, and it was so called because it was, in fact, a divided yet whole, nation. The United States was founded on the idea that every man is created equal and, because of such equality, every man should be free. The hardest part of this revolutionary concept meant that, in making all men free, certain rights and freedoms had to be given to ensure that equality remained constant. These freedoms came in the Bill of Rights upon which the First Amendment states: “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” (Mount, 2013.). Unfortunately, attacks of these rights occur on a disturbingly regular basis even though many might think that such things should not be an issue.

The first right that the Bill of Rights lists is the freedom of religion. Though widely controversial and debated worldwide, religion is very close to the hearts of many in the U.S. Despite this, religion is arguably the most persecuted practice, not just in the U.S., but in the world. Though the topic could be covered globally, this paper is going to focus on religion in the education system, focusing on the discrimination of religion in students and teachers. It is a topic that has been covered by academic writers from all corners of the earth, yet still some questions remain unanswered. Is the public practice of religion a breach of constitutional rights? What exactly is prayer and religious teaching and what is the issue? What are the claims against religion in school? And finally, is religion acceptable in schools? The short answer is yes, religion should be in school and individuals’ religion should be accepted. Here is why.

According to Leonard Mulcahy, “Mother Teresa's words convey the meaning of prayer....Prayer is joy, prayer is love, prayer is peace, you cannot explain it, you must experience prayer, it is not impossible, God gives it for the asking” (pg. 312). These words of Mother Teresa’s, though abstract, are not far from the truth. Prayer is said to be a deeply intimate spiritual connection with God. In prayer, an individual comes before God with praise, thanks, and, sometimes, requests. Prayer is a practice that arises in almost all religions centered around one or multiple gods. Whether you are Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Christian, prayer is essential for living a fulfilling life. It sounds as though prayer should be a viewed as a good thing, private or not; however, court case after court case has proven that religion and prayer still has a bias against it.

 In his essay concerning court cases on education and religion, Fred C. Lundenburg lists a number of court cases in which students were discriminated against for prayer. Lundenburg cited a variety of instances on such questions as allowing prayer and Bible reading in the public schools during normal school hours, silent prayer, and prayer at graduations or football games, release-time programs, and permitting religious groups to meet on school grounds. In all of these situations, there was a court case associated with the topic (Lundenburg). Obviously, there is an issue, even if generally, the court ruled that the school should not have any direct involvement in religious thought or practice. Though this has held strong in the majority of cases, Lundenburg says that, “Recently the principle of separation of church and state seems to have been replaced by the concepts of equal access and equal treatment for religious groups” (Lundenburg p.4).

Religion and school obviously has a certain connotation, which leads one to question: What exactly does American law say about church and state? As before mentioned, the Bill of Rights is very clear on the issue of religion, listing it as the first unalienable right to the people. Lee Ann Rabe discusses the legality of the issue in her essay, called A Rose By Any Other Name, primarily focusing on the constitutionality of silent prayer. According to Rabe, it is unconstitutional to allow students or teachers to pray, even silently, in a school setting. She cites the court case of Wallace vs. Jaffree claiming that the court ruled that silent prayer was, in fact, unconstitutional. I have studied this case at some length and found that, according to J. Stevens, the case featured a family filing a complaint against teachers who led the students to pray in unison (Stevens). This case did not deal with silent prayer, but with spoken prayer of a classroom led by a teacher. This, of course, would be unconstitutional because, as the First Amendment makes clear, the government should not prohibit or encourage prayer in students. Silent prayer in students, however, has no place in the unconstitutionality of the issue.