Why is America so obessesed with prayer in school?

I think that a lot of the people who think we should put prayer back in schools don't realize the difference between correlation and causation. They think that, since things got "worse" after mandatory prayer was rendered illegal, this must be the result of disallowing mandatory prayer.

Personally, I think they're just mythologizing the "good old days." They always seem to forget that back then we had segregated schools and less openness about the problems that students faced daily.

I agree that our students need to be taught in schools. Their souls can be saved at home or in Church.

To a true religious fundamentalist, it's far more important to save a person's soul than to save anything else, including the person's life. If they have a horrible, miserable, poor life - well, at least you saved their soul.

They're not content to allow this to be taught at home and church (and leave it out of the school) because they figure that other people aren't doing a very good job of it at home and church.

After all, if we were all sufficiently religious, there would be no crime, no extra-marital sex, etc. Right? Except somehow, that doesn't actually work . . . .

And as for teaching, most of them would rather that students are NOT taught anything that might lead them to question religion. That's why they fight so hard against teaching evolution - they literally don't CARE whether there's evidence of evolution. . . . If it might lead some to question whether there is a god, then they don't want it taught.

Imagine being in another country where the religion is Islam.

You are told you must bow to mecca 10 times a day.

If you are Christian would you want to be told you must conform?

That is how many students of another faith feel when they are told to pray to the Christian God.

They don't mind students praying, they just don't want to be told that they have to.

Free country right?

You are right about education.

Businesses want to see students graduate with enough education to preform work without having to train them from scratch.

Yet more and more kids graduate without knowing how to spell, or do simple math, how to write a letter or count change.

Art and music are essential in the development of the person, but they do little to teach a student how to do a job.

You are right about parents too. Its really up to them to keep the kids in school, and get them the other, non essential, lessons they want, like art and music.

I believe if art and music aren't essential, neither are football, baseball, volleyball, hockey, soccer or other sports.

Good rant. Loved it and you should send it to the newspaper's editorial page.

Prayer belongs in the home & church, not in schools (unless it's a religious based school).

Similarily, we could ask where all the respect is gone. We should be teaching respect in the home so it is reflected into the schools, community etc. Respect is no longer demanded or expected in the schools, workplace & general population. To get respect you need to earn it and that seems to have disappeared. And that runs us into a discussion on discipline....as discipline earns respect (I'm not talking about spanking, the strap or physical discipline either). Suffer the consequences of your actions and you will learn to respect the rules of the home, society & workplace.

This is an awfully heavy discussion for an early Sunday morning but thanks for the zap to the brain to get me going. Better than coffee. Have a good day...............

Some believe it will stop the violence. Instead of learning how to parent their children they want to leave it up to someone else, in this case God. Prayers don't teach people how to act or how to be good people. Parents need to be responsible for teaching their children. I don't care what the religious or non-religious belief is. Killing isn't done because of the lack of prayer. Look at terrorist. They pray before they go and kill. I don't care if people pray on their own time. If it makes them feel better that's great.

Many have tied prayer into morality and see the lack of morals as the lack of prayer in school. However, a child is in school only 6-8 hours a day - there is plenty of other time to have time for prayer.

It is not like a child cannot pray in school by themselves, there just can't be group led prayer but many who push for prayer in school choose to ignore that fact. Most schools give a moment of silence and that should be ample for those who wish to say a prayer. Save school for the learning of subjects that they need to know in order to gain employment & careers later in life.

THis is a holdover from way back and the christian influence of the school education programs. the concept of education in the schools and religion in the home or church is just fine. No reason why it should be other than this except the desire of christians to impose their "Prayers" on everyone, without choice, regardless of their beliefs.

You can see the futility of prayer, school or other places, by your point of pregnancies, violence, delinquincy, gangs and rug trading.

Those students who feel compelled to set themselves apart, pretending to be more holy, pure, judgemental and able to quote more bible verses, can hold their own prayer meeting for as few or many as they want.

the fact that we are so low on the knowledge score is the presence of too many insignificant courses which are then given credit for graduation and the No one left behind, where students are passed from year to year without having the basics of each progressive year to build on. In my days - you failed one of the Big 4 and you stayed behind to make it up if you did not make it in summer school. You learned A or did not get to B - simple as that.

today the interest is to make it simpler, more classes with less content passing for more education. that resuls in more unimportant and less important. Same with the mania for teaching bilingual classes toaccommodate those who do not and will not learn English - preferring their "Native" Language. In the case of hispanics that is the language of their conquerors rather than their ancestors.

We are not concerned with education because of we were, it would not be a political football and the opportunity to throw money into a system (pockets) that feeds on itself. Of course it is a cause that gets politicians elected as well. Oh, Yes, the religious aspects are also political election issues.

Either way, more money is not the answer, more discipline, intolerance of drugs, violence and unimportant classes. No points for anything but primary classes. English, Math, Science and History & Government. Oh yes - Phys Education to get rid of the overweight and physically inept.

here's the bad tim take on the american situation:

we have built an unsustainable society and the fundies are only one response to our lapse from common sense. peta is another.

the automobile culture has literally torn america apart. we move about not on foot, but within an isolated bubble of metal and glass that cuts us off from the rest of society. we have built cities that require massive investment to maintain their sprawling infrastructure and return only a fraction of their cost in real revenue, so we have to perpetuate the process by building more and more to maintain an economy that would collapse without our cars and trucks. it's this obsession with constantly rebuilding everything, constantly moving out and away that has caused a breakdown in american culture and gave rise to the fundies need to turn to his religion for salvation.

sprawl has been eroding american culture for forty years, and very soon will destroy the nation. eventually we will have to stop moving outward and face the consequences of what we have done to ourselves... my prediction is that this will happen on dec. 21, 2012, and the maya will be proven right.

school prayer isn't really about religion, it's about recapturing a lost civilization from under the roadbeds of our highways.

In my opinion, the problem is only a small part of a much bigger set of interleaved problems that essentially add up to controlling the American people. They push all kind of immoral crap like gay marriage down your child's throat while telling them it's wrong to exercise your faith. Accept war, murder, homo's, but not Jesus....... after all you may offend someone. As for the art's I'm all for bringin em back. This country obsesses about education numbers, language, you have to grow up to be a money maker, and our children's creativity is being neglected. Why should children have to spend their evenings and weekends doing absurd amounts of homework. Maybe we should be focusing on quality and not quantity. In my opinion the powers that be here want your children to learn to work like dogs and make them money, not ask questions, not be free thinkers, for next to nothing. Cause after all if they are busy just trying to survive they will be too busy to question authority or make a difference.

America's Muslim population is experiencing exploding growth and just like Christians would not want their kids to be in a setting where they do the Islamic prayer so too the Muslims object to having their kids subjected to a Christian prayer not to mention those who don't want their kids to pray at all.