Ever since the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1963 that Bible reading and prayer was unconstitutional in public schools in Abington School District v. Schempp, school prayer and Bible reading has been a matter of controversy.
The controversy erupted recently again in Webster Parish, Louisiana not far from Shreveport. Reading and reciting what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer at the start of the school day is not what Kaylee Cole wants to hear.
Public school prayer was challenged
The prayers stopped when Kaylee and her mother Christy filed a lawsuit in federal court. One account said it sent “shockwaves through the community.” It was not well received in this small, close-knit, “Christian-based” town.
Kaylee was met with glares from other students, was talked about and ostracized for filing the suit. It seems that when worldviews clash those claiming to be Christian respond emotionally rather than biblically. One has to wonder how much they are praying, I mean if things do not go the way we want are we to treat others meanly?
Didn’t Christ enjoin us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44. I think we should address some misconceptions about the SCOTUS decision.
Some say God has been kicked out of the public schools. The Supreme Court is not that supreme that it can ban the omnipotent One from anywhere. Just because there are those who do not want to admit He is present, does not mean He is absent.
Some say God has been kicked out of the public schools. The Supreme Court is not that supreme that it can ban the omnipotent One from anywhere. Just because there are those who do not want to admit He is present, does not mean He is absent.
The only thing forbidden is state-sponsored prayer; an employee of the government cannot lead a child in Bible reading or prayer. Teachers and students still have the right on their own time to read their Bible and pray.
Students can have Bible clubs, they can have activities like prayer rallies held on school grounds at appropriate times that do not interfere with classroom instruction. In fact, stopping children from doing so is unconstitutional; they have the right to the “free exercise” of religion.
Students can exercise their freedom to pray
More freedoms are lost through the failure to exercise them than are actually taken away. In this most recent incident some students were hurt that there was no time of prayer, and prayed anyway. There is no legal prohibition stopping them from doing so. I praise God they didn’t let what was going on around them stop them from exercising their right to pray.
My daughter told me my granddaughter was talking to another student about Jesus when a teacher overheard them and told them they could not talk about religion. That was wrong, just as the state cannot establish a religion by having state-sponsored prayer; it cannot prevent students from the free exercise of religion.
I think we sometimes as Christian want to argue about a particular practice when all we need to do is simply exercise the freedom we have. The real Supreme Court doesn’t convene down here, if students or teachers want to pray, well, pray.
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