NEW School Prayer

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by LostSheep

I agree with Elphaba. (Wait...Did I really just say that? )

Don't Worry LS. It happens to everyone eventually.

Elph

[bytor2112]

I think President Obama would much prefer one of these as the official pledge or even as the new National Anthem.

[annamaureen]

Originally Posted by bytor2112

I think President Obama would much prefer one of these as the official pledge or enen as the new National Anthem.

The worship and adoration that man gets is very creepy.

[ADoyle90815]

Originally Posted by Elphaba

No 15-year-old boy from Ohio wrote this.

One of the earliest-known manifestations of “New School Prayer” comes from a 1992 issue of The Washington Times, and is credited to “an anonymous student":


Additionally, prior to your "15-year-old Ohio boy" authorship, “a child in Boston,“ “a 12-year-old girl in Boston,” and “a teen in Baghdad, Arizona” also wrote it.

Subsequent versions are outlined at Snopes.

MOE has already explained this, but I wanted to reiterate: The Supreme Court has never held that students cannot pray during school hours.

Rather, the Court ruled that the government, via the school, cannot have anything to do with prayer in schools. The government cannot tell students when to pray. The government cannot tell students what to pray. The government cannot tell students that they should or should not pray.

Students can pray at school, but they cannot be disruptive when doing so. Obviously it would be disruptive in most class situations. Even there, quiet prayer, as long as it's not disruptive, is perfectly legal. And a child can pray silently to herself whenever she wants--there's no moment of silence necessary to allow her to do so.

Every stanza of this poem is blatantly inaccurate when it claims prayers have been removed from the schools. Giving it any credence is perpetuating a lie.

Elphaba
　
　
　

I agree, students can pray if they want to, as long as it doesn't cause a distraction to others. Often, a student might look like they're sitting silently before class begins, but they might be praying to themselves, which is OK as far as the Supreme Court is concerned. Also, private religious schools are still allowed, where what goes on in those schools is protected by the First Amendment.

The reason why polygamy and drug use as part of a religion are not protected by the First Amendment is that the Supreme Court ruled in both cases that when a law is broken, the protection is gone.

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by bytor2112

I think President Obama would much prefer one of these as the official pledge or enen as the new National Anthem.

What do these Primary youngsters have to do with
Obama anyway? BTW, sort of look related, like they
all shared a common grandfather or something. Anyway,
they are just finishing both prayer and pledge.

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by annamaureen

The worship and adoration that man gets is very creepy.

Did you know that they even stand when he enters the room?

[anatess]

Originally Posted by Elphaba

Don't Worry LS. It happens to everyone eventually.

Elph

Yep. It's happening to me now.