Public prayer in public schools sounds like such a good thing.
I say: No thanks.
I’m a Christian, but I do not want government to have the authority to regulate public prayer in schools. It sets a precedent that allows government to decide what kind of prayer takes place there. It would be fine with a lot of people if Christian prayer had exclusive rights to our schools, but they would not feel that way if the prayers of other faiths and religions were given exclusive rights.
No, it’s best for prayer to remain a private matter in schools. No one is going to send a child to detention for a silent prayer. And to claim that a lack of public Christian prayer keeps God out of our schools is simply inaccurate. He’s God. He goes wherever He wills. And as long as there are those who pray – whether in public or in private – He is welcome in their hearts. And they are testifying to their faith in Him.
If we believe in equal opportunity under the Constitution, but a little more equal for Christian publuc prayer in schools, then we don’t really believe in it.
If we shrug, “Majority rules,” then we’re not facing the reality that Christianity is a fast-shrinking majority.
Plus if we feel that it’s Christian duty to impose our beliefs and practices on others through government, we’re supporting the kind of government where political issues become religionized as well as religious issues becoming politicized.
Governments that sleep with religion lead to corrupting power, not public choice of faith in a free market of ideas. They leave the impression that the favored religion has no intrinsic power or advantage, unless it’s sleeping with government.
Don’t take the United States of America even one step in that diection.
Let freedom ring. Let the power of individual choice rule.
And let your religion prove its power to change and improve lives through your own example.
Blog In My Own Eye 
well it has been a while comming but, you finally wrote something I can “totaly” agree with. 🙂
Let it be my holiday gift to you, brother – and your comment is mine from you!
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year
I agree also kb, but we can see that our society does not fear God, and they have done all they can to remove Him. We are paying the price.
I can’t disagree with that!
As believers with a commission from Christ, we have a big job, a long road ahead of us — and it’s uphill.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am a public school employee. I was called to this mission field. I find that many of my Christian siblings completely misunderstand the place faith has in public schools. Many people assume faith practices are banned. This is simply not true. Faith practices are simply not run by the state. I always encourage people to brush up on their Thomas Jefferson before starting a petition.
I could go on about this for hours, but I’ll just say again, “Thank you!”
I totally agree!
Plenty of Christians continue to call for the reinstatement of corporate prayer in schools. That should make us very nervous, if we think about all the possible ramifications. The person making the argument assumes the prayer would be led more or less as he or she would lead. What would good Baptist parents say or do if the school prayer leaned Pentecostal, and little Timmy came home speaking in tongues? What if your child’s teacher were Roman Catholic (or Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Seventh Day Adventist, etc)? Some teachers are probably well versed in math or science but couldn’t pray their way out of a paper sack. I will teach my child to pray, thank you.
Michael Spencer, the original Internet Monk, said this of separating church and state: “Mixing church and state is kind of like mixing ice cream with dog crap. You can’t make the crap any better, but you sure ruin your ice cream.” I think the church is ice cream in that example, but it was sometimes hard to tell with Michael.