by Rick Robinson

Created on: July 29, 2009   Last Updated: August 08, 2009

Oh, the prayer debate! This question is more complicated and not for the reasons you might think. The question presented has three clearly different answers. Some may argue against any one, or all three of these reasons, but the United States first amendment states the facts clearly.

1) Yes "personal" prayer should be allowed in public and private schools.

"Personal" prayer is allowed in all schools always. Everyday millions of Americans pray in school without anyone ever knowing. Prayer is a very personal act and it doesn't take a public platform to achieve this. However, the act of public prayer is protected under the United States Constitution. This leads us to the next answer.

2) Yes, "communal" or "assembly" prayer should be allowed in public schools.

This answer is where all the controversy starts. Millions of Americans argue that we have free speech protected by the first amendment. Others argue that the students and faculty in the minority are excluded. There's only one problem, exclusion isn't protected by the constitution. The first amendment clearly states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;...." Public schools are government run, therefore, you can pray at public school because it's a government run institution. I know there are countless religions, agnostics, and atheists, that may not agree with this, but they too are protected to be able to pray or not pray. The first amendment covers every American, not just Christians. We all have the same rights, even atheists.

3) No, prayer shouldn't always be allowed in private schools.

This is the whole point of being a private school. Since the school is private property and the student and faculty agree to certain terms before entering that school, then no, prayer shouldn't necessarily be allowed in private schools. The vast majority of private schools are Christian or Catholic in nature, but there are some schools that are strictly secular learning academies. In this case all students and faculty know exactly the protocol. This doesn't negate the fact that we can go back to "personal prayer" that was mentioned earlier.

The prayer in school debate comes down to one thing, interpretation of the Bill of Rights. Our forefathers had the foresight to make sure we were protected from our government unlike they were from European rule. It's amazing that this living document has endured over 200 years of social change and evolution. The constitution never wavers and can only be interpreted by the the highest courts in certain cases. All of the Constitution can be interpreted in a few different ways with traditional vs. progressive thinking. However, the first amendment is the most clearly stated document in our Bill of Rights. If people want prayer outlawed in school, then make another amendment, because right now there should be no argument.

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