Religion finally Back in Schools – 10-26-99
Religion is now back in schools as one jury decided Monday of last week. The trial was Green v. Board of Education, and Mrs. Green did not like a short prayer being recited after the Pledge of Allegiance. That is just too bad the jury decided. Mrs. Green was quoted as saying “I’m taking all my children out of public schools and home-schooling them.� After a short deliberation, the jury decided to allow the prayer to be recited by a 6-2 vote.
In this case, the defense asked the question “Does the reference to God in a classroom imply that the school supports a specific religious doctrine?â€? The answer is apparently “No,” and jury member Tim Johnson said after the trial. He was also quoted as saying “In no way does this make the school Christian or Catholic, every major religion has a ‘God’, and that’s all the prayer talks about.â€?
In each classroom at Mohawk Elementary School, children recite the prayer every day and some stay quite. When one boy was questioned about why he did not recite the prayer and remained silent, he responded by saying “My parents said that is not what we believe.� This is what transpires in a lot of the classrooms, some children recite the prayer, and some choose not to.
The issue of being able to ‘choose’, as the defense made a point of, is free to every student. No children are forced, persuaded, encouraged, rewarded, or penalized if they choose to say or not to say the 23 word prayer. The prayer is not mandatory.
Some positive effects of this prayer is one, that it might result in a decrease of violence. This might happen by students remembering what the Bible says about certain subjects, and then deciding to not indulge in those actions. While some individuals may see the prayer as harmful, in reality, it is not. If people don’t want to take part of the prayer, they are not required to, and may remain silent at their own choosing. How can remaining silent hurt someone?
I personally agree with the decision of the court and jury. I am religious and do regularly attend church. I am Christian, and do not believe that this ruling can be harmful in any relevant way.
