Document Type
Argument Essay
Publication Date
1996
Excerpt
On June 16, 1962, the United States Supreme Court, by a verdict of six to one, took prayer out of the public schools. The Supreme Court granted this decision in response to a petition filed by parents of ten pupils from a school district of New Hyde Park in the state of New York. The parents objected to the practice of reciting "the Regents' Prayer" (composed by the New York State's Board of Regents) aloud in the presence of a school teacher at the beginning of each school day. The parents claimed that this practice was contrary to their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court ruled the prayer unconstitutional, "not only because it is an act of worship, but also because the prayer establishes the religious beliefs embodied within it" (Kik 7). The Supreme Court further stated that their decision reflected the writers of our Constitution's belief that, "religion is too personal, too sacred, too holy, to permit its unhallowed perversion by a civil magistrate"(7). This separation between Church and State reached deep into each and every citizen's life. The reinstatement of prayer in public schools has been pursued many times in the past thirty years, and it is time to lay the subject at rest. I consider myself to be a "prayer warrior," taking every opportunity to tum to the Lord for strength, advice, comfort, praise, or whatever the situation may warrant. When I initially considered prayer in the public schools I supported it, but now that I have had time to look into the issues, I believe that prayer should not be allowed in the public schools.
Recommended Citation
Morton, Victoria, "We Have Got A Prayer (1996)" (1996). The Valpo Core Reader. 197.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/197