Religion in Public Schools Essay -- Prayer in Public Schools

Religion in School â€Å"Juliana! It is 7:00. Time to get up,† yelled my sister Jessica every Wednesday morning during our high school years. We got up earlier than usual those Wednesday mornings for FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). FCA was held in the classroom of my social studies teacher who was also the instructor of FCA. I never realized how lucky I was to have an organized religious group at my high school until I talked to some friends from other schools. I was then given a taste of the reality of religion in school in overall society in the United States. Growing up in a small town lacking diversity in religions, I did not see the big picture that religion in schools is an issue. In order to discover what it was truly like to be exposed to the issue of religion in school I talked to three college students who graduated from large high schools. While talking to them I realized many religious privileges I took for granted at my school. For instance, these students could not say â€Å"Christmas break† because it was related to Jesus. Instead they had to say â€Å"winter break.† They simply did not have Easter break because the holiday was related to Christ. After interviewing my friends about religion in their schools I understand there is controversy on the subject. Neiberger proposal â€Å"Prayer does not belong in classrooms (1996),† states Ami Neiberger, a public relations programmer. Neiberger considers prayer at public school to violate the first amendment. Her strongest argument is saying state and religion should stay separate. This means the state should not have control of religion when it is present in school. Neiberger also does not think it is appropriate for prayer to take place at public sch... ...have to disagree with her main proposal. She does have good arguments to support her thoughts, but removing religious freedoms from school would be offensive to those students who want to practice their religion openly. Keeping religion in schools allows us as students to practice the freedoms that were given to us. References Barton, D. (2002). Solving the pledge of allegiance controversy. Wallbuilders. Retrieved November 2, 2003, from http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/ detail.php?ResourceID=67 Legal Information Institute. First amendment: an overview. New York. Cornell Law School. Retrieved November 2, 2003, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/first amendment.html Neiberger, A. (1996). Prayer does not belong in school. Retrieved October 30, 2003, from http://www.alligator.org/edit/issues/96-sumr/960523/d2ami23.htm