Student Led Prayers and Moments of Silence in Public Schools

1962

• Praying out loud in an organized way is against the First Amendment

2000

• A Texas high school had prayer over the loud speaker at a football game

• The Supreme Court decided this was unconstitutional

Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School in Georgia

• Banners with Bible passages before varsity football games

• Cheerleaders and football players supported this idea

• School board was afraid of being sued so they banned this tradition

Sports

• Teams should be able to have the support of their community

• If a team wants to pray for a safe game then they should be allowed to

Alabama

• Passed a law allowing time in school for “meditation or voluntary prayer”

• This was no longer allowed because the reason behind the moment of silence was prayer

People and Religion

• 78.4% of people in the United States are Christians

• 16.1% of people aren’t associated with a religion

Everyday Life

•Prayer has been always been a part of many people’s lives

•Adults and children pray about many things and should be able to organize community prayer even in public schools

Science

• Evolution and the Big Bang Theory are taught in schools

• These theories aren’t proven facts and won’t be banned from schools

Moment of Silence

• Doesn’t require anything specific

• Allows time for…– Remembering a

deceased person’s life– Looking back on an

important event– Praying– Reflecting on the day

Student Led Prayers

• Praying together is– Voluntary– Not promoted by the

school– Agreed on by the

students

Many Religions

• Prayer is a huge part of many different religions

• There are many people in a public school community who pray

Public vs. Private

• Private– Religious classes are

taken– School has an

established religion• Public– No required religious

classes– No religion is established

Public Schools

• If all the students in the school agree with having a moment of silence or prayer, it should be allowed.

• If someone has an objection they should tell the school and then something can be done.

Religion in Society

• Huge part of everyday life

• Provides supportive communities

• Friends and families can connect in a spiritual way

Citations

• http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/yourhoustonnews.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/8/73/4c0/8734c0e8-65d3-5565-80e4-0c75b23987de-revisions/4ce8b2d0604cc.preview-300.jpg

• http://www.coronadoschools.com/files/2010/07/private-vs.-public-school.jpg• http://davidmcanulty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/prayer.jpg• http://depletedcranium.com/evolutionisatheory.jpg• http://reds.enquirer.com/2002/06/23/biggio_zoom.jpg• http://www.rwf2000.com/gifs/PrayBoy2.jpg• "Statistics on Religion In America Report." The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. 2010.

Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://religions.pewforum.org/reports>. • http://thescroogereport.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/cheerleaders2.jpg?w=604&h=403• http://www.urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/medina-valley-high-school-graduation-PRAYER.jpg• http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/2x3786767/

Family_praying_together_SMP0012068.jpg• http://www.xtimeline.com/__UserPic_Large/69615/evt100818205300061.jpg• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nCT0ylbc5hE/TUvEqjB5rSI/AAAAAAAADgo/5fCDDaQpGUw/

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