Is A Moment of Silence Prayer?
by Big Dog on Mar 16, 2006 at 19:14 Stop the ACLU
From Gribbit at Stop the ACLU
The ACLU has consistently opposed having prayer in public schools. But what truly constitutes prayer? How about a moment of silence where a student can say a Hail Mary or a small prayer, internally reflect, meditate, sleep, do homework, or just plain decompress and prepare for their day? Does this constitute prayer? I wouldn’t think so.
Having a 2 -3 minute forced moment of silence at the beginning of the day to accommodate the personal religious convictions of children, or to allow them to do whatever they feel the need to do silently, is something that I think would be a good compromise to those who condemn the idea of prayer in schools.
Also keep in mind that the major objection to prayer in schools is the leftist idea of Separation of Church and State. There is NO mention of separation of church and state in the entire Constitution. It appears NO WHERE. And if you try to mention the establishment clause I’ll slap your stupid ass. Pay attention to the wording. And don’t you dare mention interpretation of anything, it’s written in English for the Love of Mike.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I am convinced everyone who looks at that and thinks that a public school requiring children to stand for the pledge of alliegance and claims that this is a state endorsement of religion is on crack. Didn’t anyone teach these people how to read?!?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Punctuation means something people. The founders didn’t put that comma in there for it to look pretty. They also didn’t mention Congress specifically in order apply this restriction to other governmental bodies. In the George Mason draft of the Bill of Rights, the establishment clause was better defined.
That Religion or the Duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by Reason and Conviction, not by Force or violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural, and unalienable Right to the free Exercise of Religion according to the Dictates of Conscience, and that no particular religious Sect or Society of Christians ought to be favored or established by Law in preference to others.
To this point, no one arguing for the other side has successfully answered the question as to when a decision to allow a nativity scene in a public park or a school permitting a prayer at the opening of classes for the day constitutes action by the Congress. The Constitution specifically states that “Congress shall make no law…”. It doesn’t say that the Ashtabula City School District shall make no law or Millcreek Public School or the City of N. Platte, Nebraska, it says “Congress shall make no law… “.
So what constitutes prayer? I don’t think a 2 -3 minute moment of silence or the Pledge of Allegiance are prayers.
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