Essay on To Pray or Not to Pray - 2778 Words

To Pray or Not to Pray Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech... On December 15th, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified. The first of these ten amendments to the constitution of the United States states that it is forbidden for congress or for any state or state institution to pass a law respecting or prohibiting the practice of religion. Since then, the precise meaning of these words has been constantly under debate. Most recently, this debate has surfaced with respect to the establishment of school prayer. Although there are some who may claim that the first amendment does not prohibit the establishment of prayer in public†¦show more content†¦And the Protestant majority rioted in anger, for three days, and left thirteen dead in their wake. (Lynn, 343) Until the early nineteen-sixties, organized prayers in public schools were as common as math problems and milk cartons. (Mummert, 1) For example, in New York, a prayer written by the Board of Regents was recited daily. Its text read: Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country. But in 1962, parent Steven Engel of New York led a class action suit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This decades-old prayer was declared unconstitutional, signalling the beginning of the end for prayer in public schools around the country, and opening the way to further debate and legal action on this sensitive topic. In 1963, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zl, was asked if it was permissible for a Jew to participate in class prayer in school. He answered that it was preferable to abstain from saying the prayer. However, since at the time that was not an option, he answered that it may be recited under certain conditions, these being that it not contain reference to any particular faith; that it must remain completely non-denominational, making no mention of any deity, except for God, as the word itself can mean whatever the reciter intends it to; that there not be any religious symbols or pictures present in the room where the prayer isShow MoreRelatedEssay on To Pray or Not to Pray in Schools1503 Words   |  7 PagesTo Pray or Not to Pray in Schools The trend of taking God and moral teaching out of schools is a diabolical scheme, declared the Reverend Billy Graham soon after the Engel versus Vitale and Schempp verdict (Haas 30). The debate over the separation of church and state had been swirling through courtrooms for years. The controversy over school prayer in the Engel versus Vitale case started over a prayer recited in the New York public school system, known as the Regents Prayer. 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Not only is this unrealistic for pretty much anyone, but we also dont all want to abandon family, friends and careers to go and have an out-of-body experience in the woods and discover the meaning of life, exciting as it may be to readRead MoreIt Happened Within A Pray Meeting923 Words   |  4 PagesIt Happened in a Pray Meeting In the Comunidad Cristiana Nueva Esperanza (New Hope Christian Community) every Tuesday at 7: 00 PM we met to pray, although sometimes only has been my family and I, (we are the pastoral family). However we have insisted inviting people of the church to come. Initially, perhaps being that, the beginning was further assistance, but the temptation to which we are subjected when we decided to unite to talk to God is much stronger than normal (?) and some succumb, the