Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of a landmark case in our nation’s history.  And I’m not saying it was necessarily a horrible ruling.  On this date in 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer in schools was violated the Establishment clause of the constitution that separated Church and State.  It all started when Madalyn Murray, an atheist, sued Baltimore school district in a case that was later consolidated with the Pennsylvania case, Abington School District vs. Schempp.  The state court and Maryland court rejected her case, but the Supreme Court picked it up.  The Supreme Court said it wasn’t enough for children to be excluded from prayer and Bible reading activities.  Prayer in school had to be outlawed. 

Now, would you like to know why I don’t think this was a bad decision?  I actually don’t agree with prayer in public schools.  I know that sounds crazy coming from a Christian, but I stand by my views.  If the public school implements mandated prayer in schools, how Christian can it be?  Most  kids in schools are probably not Christians.  And if we allow Christian prayer, we have to open it up to all religions.  This would mean that we would have to have Islāmic prayers, Jewish prayers, and every other religion imaginable.  In addition to this, mandated prayer of any kind cannot truly be genuine and sincere from everyone.  While some children would be sincere, a good majority would not be.

Now, does this mean that I don’t think children should be allowed to pray in schools?  Certainly not.  if  student wishes to pray individually, tell others about their religious views, and even pray out loud at a sporting event or graduation exercise, they should be allowed to do so.  If they instigate it, I see no problem.  But the school should not mandate it.  I was highly offended when I was a public school and the principal mandated prayer time at our in service (even though she said that teachers were free to leave, who would risk it?).  She was the same one who said at a Black History program, “Let’s give it up for God.”  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m a conservative Christian, but that does not mean that I want a school or government mandating how I should worship.

For more information:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/50-years-after-i-abington-v-schempp-i-a-dissenter-looks-back-on-school-prayer/276921/

http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/Abingdon-School-District.html

http://famousdaily.com/history/supreme-court-rules-against-bible-reading.html