THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412070394
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 247 lines
On Nov. 27, Kathleen Parker of The Orlando Sentinel wrote that instituting prayer in the schools might be worthwhile. ``In the face of rising statistics regarding teen pregnancy, adolescent murder, child-perpetrated armed robbery or rape, what have we got to lose?'' she asked. We asked Commentary readers what they thought. Here are some of their replies.
Voluntary prayer in the schools? No. What is actually being proposed is government-mandated and -enforced time for prayer, as a group. Nothing whatsoever now prevents a child from ``voluntarily'' praying anytime, anywhere. There is no benefit in coercing a disparate group, children or adults, to fold their hands and bow their heads.
As a pastor, I know that prayer is powerful. It changes lives; it opens hearts to God. Communal prayer is undertaken in an environment of intimacy, within a family or a house of worship. Mutual participation and consent is necessary for true prayer undertaken in a group. Imposed prayer is an abomination.
The danger in instituting so-called ``voluntary prayer'' in public school lies in the false assurance it provides, the illusion that five minutes of prayer per week in school takes the place of an hour or more of worship in a church, synagogue or mosque.
Ms. Parker, in her commentary, asks, ``Why not? Why can't the government provide for the spiritual needs of my child and me?'' The separation of church and state is a two-way wall, meant to keep the church out of our government AND the state out of our spiritual lives. In her concern for her 10-year-old, Ms. Parker should visit a church some Sunday. That is where she'll find help battling the demons. She should stop looking for that help in homeroom.
Rev. Robert Lundquist
Virginia Beach
The question isn't whether one can pray in school. No one can stop prayer in school. At some point in the school day, anyone - teacher, administrator or student - can find a moment for a silent prayer.
The question isn't whether prayer, and the faith that goes with it, automatically makes us better people. If prayer made us better, the Crusades, the Inquisition and Jim Jones would never have happened. The question isn't whether prayer is valuable. Prayer and hope go hand-in-hand. Those who talk to God, whatever they conceive her to be, and those who listen for the answer will always find comfort in prayer.
The real question is, should we force all students to pray? Or, should we force them to listen while others utter prayers that conflict with their religion? Once these questions are answered we can go on to determine what the state prayer should be. Should Pat or Jerry or the pope or the Ayatollah or Congress write it?
We can also debate the issue of what happens to the student who doesn't pray. Should he or she be held up to the ridicule of the rest of the class, or is refusal to pray grounds for automatic expulsion? Should we create religious magnet schools? Each public school in the city should be dedicated to a single religious belief. Of course, we will probably have to build a lot more schools. Some will be virtually empty and some will be very overpopulated.
Prayer in schools can never match the silent prayers parents utter when they send their children to school each day. They're not mandatory or sanctioned by the state, and no court can stop them. Children are free to do the same.
Bob Morrison
Virginia Beach
Why force the public schools and teachers to enforce prayer, or a moment of silence in the classroom? If those advocating school prayer hope to create a moral climate that would lead to a reduction in teen violence, teen pregnancy and other social problems, then why wait until school-age children are in the classroom?
Before sending their children to school, families should start the day together at the breakfast table with the prayer of their choice. The slogan ``The family that prays together, stays together'' means more than prayer in a classroom with non-family members.
Do the politicians promoting classroom prayer or a moment of morning silence at school really believe it will replace - or enhance - religion in the home? Do religious people also believe that teachings to their children at home have so little influence on them that they need have prayer in the classroom forced on all children?
Prayer does not belong in public schools. Politicians and proponents of school prayer might do more good in spending their time helping to solve some of the obvious problems in the country. Perhaps befriend a poor family, aid an elderly person or assist some homeless school-age child.
Mary Wilson
Edenton
Voluntary prayer in the schools would help create a moral climate, but is this the answer?
Before we try to establish any form of prayer in the schools, we must realize the diversity of religions in the schools. And we must establish dialogue as to what constitutes prayer.
Some religions forbid their followers from praying with members of other religions. Therefore, separating the pupils by religion would be a prodigious task. You would have different prayer times and different methods of prayer.
If there isn't going to be a formative, strict and carefully orchestrated disposition for prayer, there is no need to even bother. The sincerity of prayer must be incontrovertible. We can bring prayer back into the schools all we want . . . but if prayer and the presence of God isn't established in the home, it would all be for naught.
Prayer in the schools isn't the problem. Getting parents involved in the schools is the problem - and the answer.
Curtis Mayfield
Chesapeake
I feel that the rising statistics in teen pregnancies, adolescent murder, rape and crime in general are caused by the lack of prayer in the home, not at school. The same people who are yelling for prayer in schools will not lead their children in prayer at home or even think of having daily devotion at home with their family.
Public schools have a multitude of races, colors and religious beliefs. So whose prayers are going to be used? Some people's prayers can take hours, and several times daily. Our teachers are overworked as it is. Why burden them with teaching religion?
I cannot find anything in the Bible to support ``prayer in public schools.'' It seems to indicate prayer at home more. Politicians use ``prayer in school'' to give them the image of living as ``spiritually and morally righteous'' for their own image.
If we get a constitutional amendment allowing prayer in school, devil worshippers will be allowed their prayer also. How would you like your child to learn to worship the devil at school? Remember, things of the devil are attractive and easy to fall into.
I think we should all lead our children in prayer at home and send a better student to school. This is how we can fight crime.
Joe C. Taylor
Norfolk
The theory goes something like this: Prayers in government schools will help bring down teenage pregnancies, bring an end to drug abuse and stop children from shooting each other. There's a way to test this theory before involving the government with this religious exercise.
Examine the areas where drug use, drive-by shootings and teenagers getting pregnant are considered a common, everyday experience. Now, look for a church in the neighborhood. Look at the people in the church. Are they praying? If the answer is yes, then the theory has just been disproved. How can drug use, drive-by shootings and teenagers getting pregnant occur when all that praying is going on?
Will each denomination or religion have a fair chance at offering their prayer to this captive audience? What if an atheist decides that he/she would like to offer a few words? How many religious parents (never mind the children) will tolerate whatever words that may flow from this eager student? Each innocent and impressionable Christian child eagerly hanging on to each word that condemns their religion. How long will it take before someone becomes offended and initiates a lawsuit?
If prayer in government schools is such a good and positive thing, why did the Catholics start their own school system? If you don't know the answer to that one question, maybe it's time we start praying for the government schools, instead of praying in them.
John Steinson
Virginia Beach
I cannot believe the absurdity of Kathleen Parker's editorial on bringing back prayer to the schools.
Among other ridiculous statements, Ms. Parker states that ``we are fundamentally a religion-based society founded on Judeo-Christian moral principles.'' If this is our base, why are we one of the most crime-ridden, abusive societies on this planet? Where is all the morality? This base, in reality, must be pretty weak, and it is. A base in religion is really no base at all, for all religions are nothing but man-made fallacies.
Religion is a farce. We do not need gods or religions or fears of burning in hell to have morals. We have lots of religions and religious believers - and this world is a mess. It just does not work. To establish morals we need acceptance, understanding, common sense, respect and discipline - among other things. These things we do not get from a god. We give them to ourselves and to other people by first receiving them from and observing them in other people.
Instead of building our children's character and our nation on what I call ``boo-shee,'' we would all be better off if we learned to put our faith, our trust and our beliefs in ourselves and others and then acted upon them. . .
Lynn Leslie
Virginia Beach
Not long after the Supreme Court ruling banning school prayer, my fifth-grade teacher found herself in a quandary. One morning, as was her custom, she picked up the Bible on her desk and began her reading, as was her routine.
Suddenly, she caught herself and mumbled something about ``not being allowed to do this anymore'' and went on with the morning lesson. It was an embarrassing moment for her, and we - her 10 year-old students - sensed it. Some of us, I'm sure, felt sorry for her. The devotions were an important part of her day.
I'm a long way from Prospect Elementary in Brackenridge, Pa., and now I'm the teacher. I doubt that Mrs. Holliday's Scripture reading or the devotions of other teachers did me any harm (in fact, the experience probably did me good). I don't believe that the question of school prayer is paramount in education.
We are a pluralistic society made up of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Bahais, Taoists and many other faiths. Cultural diversity asks that we tolerate our differences and acknowledge our similarities. Indeed, a tall order that frequently gets translated into ``don't do anything or somebody is going to get mad.''
Religion is found in the province of faith as it is revealed in the home, church, temple, meeting hall, synagogue or mosque. Faith's teachers are parents and those trained in doctrine. And, God bless those who take the task devoutly.
Those concerned with the virtues of youth need to ``walk their talk.'' They can best assist education by sending to school students who will respect themselves and others and who are prepared to learn.
William W. Blake
The debate over voluntary prayer in schools is a thorough waste of our country's time and energy. As a former infantryman and now a graduate engineering student, I know that there are no heathens in either a foxhole or a differential equations exam. Silent voluntary prayer already exists for every American everywhere, including schools. Truth be told, school prayer is pretty much a non-issue.
The argument for prayer in schools seems to be, as presented by Kathleen Parker, ``Why not give it a shot, just for the heck of it?'' Is this supposed to be a thoughtful response to teen violence, illegitimacy and other social problems? I think not. But school prayer seems a painless (read ``cost-free''), and, hence, popular solution.
Embracing the prayer solution will trivialize the scope of the problem and will only delay the search for viable solutions. Of course, once in place, the prayer solution cannot be disproved. When the social problems persist, as they surely will, advocates will naturally say that there's not enough prayer in schools and will demand a more forceful Christian (this is the assumed religion, isn't it?) indoctrination of our youth. As this scenario unfolds, America starts looking more like a Christian Iran.
Another ridiculous argument for school prayer is the misty-eyed nostalgia for long-gone, morally ideal, pre-1963 America that never existed. No one needs to be reminded that minorities were second-class citizens during the long-running school prayer era. Does this mean that school prayer caused and prolonged the mistreatment of minorities? Of course not. So why do we employ the same cause-and-effect logic to think that the revival of school prayer will magically transport us to the moral nirvana of an era that never existed?
When we as a nation were faced with the complex issues surrounding illegal drug trafficking and drug abuse a decade ago, we were told by our leaders to ``Just Say No.'' This moronic response begot an iron-fisted criminal solution to a troubling health problem . . . .
Drug problems are now passe (too hard to solve), and today's topic is our young and their irresponsible behavior. Our elected leaders are telling troubled youth to ``Just Say God.'' But don't blame our legislators. Blame the slack-jawed electorate who will settle for simple, painless, but doomed solutions instead of demanding innovative, effective, and, yes, perhaps costly ideas from our much-too-well-paid-and-pampered public servants.
Since Newt Gingrich has made Susan Smith's killing of her children an implied impetus for his school prayer solution, I find it quite interesting that Susan Smith's stepfather is on the Christian Coalition's advisory board. To mimic Newt's style of rhetoric: ``How can we expect the Christian Coalition's dogma, and religion in general, to solve the social problems of our youth though a few minutes of daily prayer when Susan Smith still couldn't tell right from wrong even after coming from a family of Christian Coalition proponents?''
One must ask, is school prayer really the answer to today's problems? I will boldly predict that the ``Just Say God'' campaign, like the ``Just Say No'' campaign before it, will have no significant impact on our social problems, but boy will it fool some voters, like Kathleen Parker, into thinking that our leaders have earned their pay and perks.
Alan E. Blanchard
Norfolk by CNB