On Prayer in Public Schools
Wayne Adkins
June 01, 2006
It is graduation time again and the chorus of Christians bemoaning the absence of prayer at graduation ceremonies and in public schools in general has returned. They point out that the majority in this country identify themselves as Christians. They point out that students who are not Christian don’t have to participate in the prayer. They go on ad nauseam about the founding fathers and deny that any provision for a wall of separation between church and state exists despite numerous court rulings to the contrary.
I would like to point out a few things in response. Any student, teacher, or administrator can pray in any public school. This has always been the case. Anyone can bow their head before lunch and pray. Even when a test is about to begin and the teacher asks for silence, any student can offer up a silent prayer to the deity of their choice. But this is not what some Christians want. They want teachers and administrators to be able to lead students in prayer out loud. They want students to be able to read from the Bible and pray over the intercom during the morning announcements like the good old days.
Why this insistence on placing audible prayer in front of students? I don’t know of a Christian who believes that God doesn’t hear silent prayers. I don’t know of a Christian who believes that the location of the person praying has anything to do with whether or not God will hear those prayers and respond. So why do they insist on praying out loud in schools in a group as opposed to Christians praying silently as individuals or praying out loud as a group while somewhere other than at a public school? The obvious answer is to give credence to prayer and the God being prayed to in the eyes of students and to let children see the authority figures they spend the most time with endorse religion; in short, to proselytize.
Public schools exist for the purpose of secular education, not as a vehicle for the proselytization of other people’s children. No group has the right to do that. Of course, some Christians argue that the absence of any acknowledgement of God in public schools constitutes an endorsement of atheism. This is, of course, untrue. To endorse atheism, schools would have to tell students that no God exists. Schools do not do that. Some Christians argue that teaching in a geology class that the earth is billions of years old is tantamount to endorsing atheism because it contradicts the biblical account that God created 6000 years ago. They argue that teaching evolution in a biology class is equivalent to endorsing atheism because it contradicts a literal interpretation of Genesis.
If their argument held, then teaching children that poisonous snakes can be lethal and should not be handled would be an endorsement of atheism because some religious groups believe that they can and should handle poisonous snakes. Serving pork or certain sea foods in the school’s cafeteria would be an endorsement of atheism because some religious groups believe that God considers them an abomination. Of course these examples are absurd as are the claims from fundamentalist Christians that teaching solid science endorses atheism.
If Christians want to pray in school they can. If they want to pray for schools they can. If they insist that they be allowed to stand before students and pray out loud then they are simply wanting to put on a show; a show designed to add validity to their beliefs in the eyes of a captive audience composed of other peoples children. That is something they can’t do and rightfully so. That’s not what our schools are for.
I would like to point out a few things in response. Any student, teacher, or administrator can pray in any public school. This has always been the case. Anyone can bow their head before lunch and pray. Even when a test is about to begin and the teacher asks for silence, any student can offer up a silent prayer to the deity of their choice. But this is not what some Christians want. They want teachers and administrators to be able to lead students in prayer out loud. They want students to be able to read from the Bible and pray over the intercom during the morning announcements like the good old days.
Why this insistence on placing audible prayer in front of students? I don’t know of a Christian who believes that God doesn’t hear silent prayers. I don’t know of a Christian who believes that the location of the person praying has anything to do with whether or not God will hear those prayers and respond. So why do they insist on praying out loud in schools in a group as opposed to Christians praying silently as individuals or praying out loud as a group while somewhere other than at a public school? The obvious answer is to give credence to prayer and the God being prayed to in the eyes of students and to let children see the authority figures they spend the most time with endorse religion; in short, to proselytize.
Public schools exist for the purpose of secular education, not as a vehicle for the proselytization of other people’s children. No group has the right to do that. Of course, some Christians argue that the absence of any acknowledgement of God in public schools constitutes an endorsement of atheism. This is, of course, untrue. To endorse atheism, schools would have to tell students that no God exists. Schools do not do that. Some Christians argue that teaching in a geology class that the earth is billions of years old is tantamount to endorsing atheism because it contradicts the biblical account that God created 6000 years ago. They argue that teaching evolution in a biology class is equivalent to endorsing atheism because it contradicts a literal interpretation of Genesis.
If their argument held, then teaching children that poisonous snakes can be lethal and should not be handled would be an endorsement of atheism because some religious groups believe that they can and should handle poisonous snakes. Serving pork or certain sea foods in the school’s cafeteria would be an endorsement of atheism because some religious groups believe that God considers them an abomination. Of course these examples are absurd as are the claims from fundamentalist Christians that teaching solid science endorses atheism.
If Christians want to pray in school they can. If they want to pray for schools they can. If they insist that they be allowed to stand before students and pray out loud then they are simply wanting to put on a show; a show designed to add validity to their beliefs in the eyes of a captive audience composed of other peoples children. That is something they can’t do and rightfully so. That’s not what our schools are for.
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