Prayer in Schools

One of the most debated subjects involving schools revolves around prayer in schools. Both proponents and opponents have been very passionate in their stance on the topic and this has presented many legal challenges of whether to or not to include prayers in school. Before 1960, there was little opposition, if any, about the inclusion of prayers in school. In fact, it was generally accepted as the norm. However, over the last fifty or so years divergent views about the same subject have arisen with both supporters and opponents presenting very passionate cases to support their argument.

First, the proponents of the inclusion of prayer in school argue that the presence of a religious factor in school will inculcate a culture of good morals and ethics. These people believe that most countries’ secular education systems are bereft of the fundamental concept of the right and wrong and philosophies that steer good human beings. The majority of people who believe that prayer should be allowed in schools as well argue that this will benefit the society too. In the US, for instance, there has recently been this argument in support of prayer in school via the enactment of ‘No child left behind Act’. This piece of legislation holds that no child should be prohibited from saying constitutionally permitted prayers to the extent that there is no clash between the mission of the school and the prayer or the prayer is not distractive. Supporters have a very firm legal foundation to buttress this and believe it will go a long way in protecting religious practices in schools.

Another argument that proponents of prayer in school propagate is that permitting prayer in school is an individual autonomy. In their view, and rightly so, individual expression is a right that is fully guaranteed in the bills of rights espoused in nearly all countries’ constitutions. Praying in school is no different from engaging a friend socially or even asking a question. Therefore, they view it as discriminatory to disallow prayer in school without disallowing the aforementioned expressions as well.

Prohibiting prayer and other religious expressions in schools effectively establishes ‘secularism’. Proponents of prayer in school argue that refusing people to pray in school is akin to encouraging the establishment of secularism. By not permitting religious expression, courts of law have favored the religion of secular humanism.

However, the debate about the subject has as well been awash with the argument against prayer in schools. First and foremost, allowing prayer in school will be a catalyst for animosity between students or even between students and teachers. Factually, the school community is hardly composed of people with the same religious persuasions. What this means is that if the school administrations were to allow people to hold prayers in school, confusion would inadvertently arise. For instance, imagine a community comprising Muslims and Christians simultaneously holding prayers, wouldn’t it just be chaotic? Under such circumstances it would be advisable for people to hold prayers after or before school.

Apart from creating confusion, prayer can be divisive. People belonging to the school community should at all times embrace factors that bring them together as opposed to those that set them apart. Going back to my earlier example of a school community comprising Muslims and Christians, allowing people to hold different prayers makes them see their schoolmates as being different. The effect of this is a divided community, thus making it hard to achieve benefits that come with the team work.

Allowing prayer in schools may be discriminatory as well under some circumstances. The established rules are that neither the government nor the school administration should favor one group over the other. Allowing prayer in schools is tantamount to favoring religion over no religion, which manifestly violates the established rules.

Ideally, there should be a clear line between the matters of religion and those of the state. Prayer in school violates the existence of such barriers between the church and the state. Permitting prayer in school has the effect of introducing religious affairs in a government institution.

In some cases, school administrations have also been known to dictate which prayer to be held in their school. This practice is commonplace in those institutions that happen to be sponsored by churches. The Roman Catholic sponsored schools are the main culprit by virtue of being the main sponsor of various schools worldwide. In most cases, these schools do not entirely draw their students from the catholic community, which therefore means that they are composed of people across religions. This denies the students the right to practice whatever religion they wish to. In the United States, for example, it is a constitutional right of everyone to practice the religion of their choice.

Another topical issue, which is equally controversial, is whether students should be given a leeway to choose to practice religion or not in schools and whether the school administration should accommodate this in school programs. Without properly defining the distinction between a discussion centered on religion and the foregoing discussion about prayers, one may find it hard to dissociate the two. Religion basically goes further than just mere prayer. It comprises a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldly views that relate to spirituality, humanity, and at times moral value. For instance, different religious doctrines advocate for different dress codes, for instance, Muslim ladies wear hijabs as opposed to the Christians. Different religions have different views about the type of foods their believers should take. For example, the Muslim faith does not allow its faithful to eat pork.

Having presented the above case, the one thousand dollar question is whether students should be allowed to choose to practice religion or not and whether the administration should be accommodative of this. There can be two arguments concerning this question – in support and against it. Beginning with the arguments in favor, allowing students to pray is to make a choice of whether to guarantee them their constitutional as well as human rights. Freedom of worship is enshrined in the constitution and as such no person should dictate its choice to any person. Pagans (group of people who do not subscribe to any religion) have their rights too and as such should be allowed to exercise their freedom of choice as well as that of worship.

Allowing students to choose whether to identify with a certain religion helps to create the harmony between students as well as between the administrators and students. This harmony emanates from the fact that when students feel that their views are respected they tend to view their seniors in a good light and as such feel obliged to respect them. This results in good relations between them and consequently a harmonious co-existence between the administrators and students.

In the same vein, allowing students to choose whether or not to practice religion may result in regrettable consequences as well. For instance, doing so may mean that their needs as students become fundamentally different. Therefore, they end up requiring preferential treatment. For example, since Muslims have a very strict calendar, it may be administratively difficult to accommodate them and their activities in the school calendar.

Moreover, as it has been noted earlier, permission to do as they please may be a recipe for chaos to some extent. This may be so because of ideological differences inherent in any two groups of different religious faiths. For instance, pagan can hardly relate well with believers. What this means therefore is that division may arise thanks to these ideological differences.

Having looked at both sides of the coin, it is my considered opinion that caution should be exercised when handling these issues, which may be vey emotive in some cases. In my opinion, prayer in school should not be permitted if such permission leaves a divided school society in its wake. My opinion is that an all-inclusive schedule should be put in place so that each and every activity is accommodated in a manner that is acceptable to all people involved. This is because prayer is important and so are school activities.

Concerning whether students should be allowed to choose to practice religion or not, my view is that to the extent that such a move does not negatively impact the common good, it should be allowed. Otherwise, it should not be allowed. For that reason, school administration should be accommodative and provide a conducive environment where every person’s interests will be taken care of.

About author

Susan Webb is the author of https://writessay.org/ - a service that provides students with essay writing, bachelor's, master's, and other writing services. Susan successfully graduated from the Faculty of Philology at American University. She has always been interested in the culture of other countries, the diverse literature, both artistic and scientific. She also studied deeply the philosophies and psychology of people at university. She began her career as a teacher of English literature. Now it continues to develop in different directions.