Prayer in Public Schools Essays -- Religion in Public Schools

Prayer in Public SchoolsReligion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The foreboding of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a fewer of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values by religious pull. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her childrens rights as Americans. In a particular trial, Wallace V. Jaffree, an argument arose concerning a one-minute meditation or voluntary prayer in public schools (Wallace V. Jaffree). George Wallace, a governor of Alabama, agreed with the 1981 Alabama decree (16-1-20.1) authorizing this 1-minute period of silence in all public schools (Wallace V. Jaffree). The District Court agreed with Wallace and ultimately held that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not prohibit a State from establishing a religion (Wallace V. Jaffree). In contrast, Appellee Ishmael Jaffree, a resident of Mobile County, Alabama objected this Alabama Statute. Since the one-minute prayer was voluntary, his children did not participate. They were then exposed to banishment from their peer group class members for not participating (Wallace V. Jaffree). In the Wallace versus Jaffree trial, Jaffree has a stronger case because his complaints are justified through both the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the ideology of Separation of Church and State. According to the First Amendment, Congress shall make no law re... ...a particular faith. Individuals against religion in schools do not want a faith to be part of a school day. Where do we draw the line? The individuals who support religion in schools have the right not to practice religion. In contrast, individuals ag ainst religion in schools have the same right to not practice religion. In this particular case, or any other cases that may devolve in the future, further research can be accomplished by identifying the boundaries for each argument. Sometimes the issues are so closely related that the solution becomes operose to distinguish. Other times, evaluating the opinions of others supports to gain a broad consensus of what the majority desires. With this further research, there could be a better understanding of individuals opposing thoughts, which could help establish a common ground and a solution to different cases.