Poll: School District about to Get Sued

[Mcmuffin]

http://friendlyatheist.com/2011/05/20/this-district-is-about-to-get-sued/

I was Browsing Fark and i saw this article. it blows my mind that prayer is still such an integral part of a schools graduation ceremony when it has been deemed illegal several times by the supreme court. I myself am an Atheist, however i do believe people are allowed to believe whatever they want to believe in private, in public especially places built by and paid for by the Federal Government religion has no place. Your Thoughts?

EDIT:Imagine the poll says "is it okay for a public school to lead a prayer?" im a newb dont know how to change poll.

 

[Bobic]

I'd say it's ok if people in the school want to have a big group prayer, but it should be perfectly acceptable for people to sit out. Saying that no-one should pray is just as bad as saying everyone should.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

Seems fine to me.

I went to a Church of England Primary School, even though I'm pretty much agnostic now I can still pull most of the Lord's Prayer from memory.

Never messed me up.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I have a question, if you really don't care what people believe, then why do you care if they pray, I mean how will that affect you in anyway?

 

[Korak the Mad]

Belive what you want, but please don't enforce your beliefs on the people around you. Maybe you could mentally pray, but not actually physically do it.

I'm somewhat of a buddhist, I never went to church and I was allowed to find a religion that suits me. I don't go around enforcing my beliefs on everybody around me. With government work, that is a definite "Keep away at all times" with religion, and especially in schools. Teaching religion is one thing, but enforcing religious beliefs on the students is something that should not be allowed.

Everyone has their own beliefs and the school telling children what to believe or they'll get punished is something that should not be allowed to happen.

 

[Extraintrovert]

I voted no, partially to be a dick, partially because religious practices in a government institution has long been something that should be removed. Ultimately however, I agree with Bobic in that people can be allowed to do it if they want, but not as part of the school's schedule or policy and anyone can choose not to participate.

 

[Mcmuffin]

I think The reason most people disagree with it is because when you dont believe something but everyone around you is doing something like praying but you dont it feels incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. Imagine being a devout christian graduating from a school where they do a Muslim prayer at the end of it. That and its a Public school paid for by the Federal Government which has deemed Prayer in School is illegal because the Government is supposed to be secular and the education system is part of the Government.

Edit: Also the bible itself says that you should pray in private rather than public. Matthew 6.6

 

[Ulvai]

If it IS against the law there, then that guy is absolutely right.

 

[Jonluw]

It's okay to pray in school. It is not, however, okay to require or organize prayers in school.

 

[HT_Black]

By God, that guy is a prick. I mean really now--he's supposed to be a rational man, so why's he sticking his fingers in the entire school's pie? Would it have killed him to just tell a teacher somewhere, or just plain not do it? If it's the school's custom, who's he to say otherwise?

 

[Giest4life]

It's ok to pray school, but they should not be school sponsored and students should not be excused so that they can pray. Do it on lunch time or after school or something.

EDIT: If the information from the link is true, the school needs to be denied their public funding from the federal government and big ol' lawsuit from our friends at the ACLU.
I guess they missed the part in the Constitution where it says that the Constitution is binding for all levels of government.

 

[funguy2121]

Sanctioned religion has no place in the public forum. If it is a private institution founded by a church, such as a university or a hospital, then they can hold group prayers at graduation ceremonies and before surgeries (one of the hospitals around here-Dallas-does the latter). Otherwise, it shouldn't be going on. If they want to give students the 90 seconds that they used to give in Texas to do whatever they want (including prayer) at the beginning of the day, more power to them. The state cannot legally sanction a religion.

 

[Mcmuffin]

http://www.adl.org/religion_ps_2004/prayer.asp

here are the laws about it. figured ide share.

 

[Free Thinker]

There's a prayer group in my school, and they have meetings every Tuesday morning. I don't mind it, and they've never enforced their beliefs on others. They've actually been pretty nice to me seeing as I'm not Christian anymore. After telling them that, they still invited me to their meeting and I had free coffee and donuts. Albeit it was kind of awkward, but they accepted the fact that I don't believe anymore and see it as a different path to the same destination.

 

[PurplePlatypus]

Students should be free to pray in schools but it should not be led by the school itself.
It's not the schools place to run such a thing, presume things about students and put students in what might be an awkward position.


Public schools should remain secular.

 

[Kryzantine]

Is the school telling its students to pray at its prayer? If this was being forced on the kid, then he has a point, but as it stands, it appears that this is a voluntary act that the school merely has on its site. It shouldn't be illegal. The kid has the right to not pray at graduation, and that should be enough.

 

[brunothepig]

I'm with this kid. True, it never bothered me in my primary school religious education thing way way back, and Australian public schools don't actually have prayers, but I can imagine it would bother some people, especially if they follow a different religion, instead of no religion.
On top of that, the law is behind him, so regardless of whether you agree with him, the school's practices were against the law. Plus, the teachers were being rather vindictive about it, both in public and (apparently) in private.
Is it really like this in America? I mean, I knew a larger amount of people were religious, but for them to react this way when they were in the wrong in the first place.
As for the poll, public prayer has no place in a school.

 

[Mechanix]

The kid in the article did the right thing.

Who are you to say he is a prick? Prayer in school is illegal because it singles out those not of the same religion. It is a PUBLIC SCHOOL, a place everyone is FORCED to go to unless they pay hefty sums of money to go to a private school. Graduation is a special time, and if everyone except him is praying, he is going to be uncomfortable.

What's most infuriating is the teacher who said he should "just keep his mouth shut". Yeah, that's the spirit, just don't say anything that will make people upset, just stay repressed. I guess she hasn't seen the first amendment recently.