Allow Prayers in Public Schools
Prayer is merely nothing but conversation, an ongoing conversation with God. It is unavoidable, because God is everywhere around us. We may refute his subsistence, but God is there, seeking our concentration and demanding complete attention of our hearts and minds (Bowker, 2006). He is the creator of mankind, infact of the entire universe. And none of us could take another step in life without his will and command. Thus, submission to Him and offering thanks to God almighty is the utmost duty of every living being.
But, the main problem arises when it comes to a busy life of today’s human being. Just take the example of a child. Even a child is made so busy and occupied in school that there are no prescribed prayer break or prayer periods allotted to him. So in my opinion prayers should be allowed in public schools. There should be defined timings in which students should be allowed to go for prayers and there should also be a praying area. This gesture does not inculcate in his routine or daily lifestyle to offer prayer, and schools do play a major role in this.
Hence, when a school timetable comprises of a library period, games, painting then why not prayers? This should be considered as one of the foremost priority by the school management. I strongly believe in prayer in schools and it is inevitable and any effort to repress it is lawfully destined to a shameful failure. The official stricture and rules for prayer in school have been very clearly defined, but the question, “should prayer be allowed in school? ” is an old debate.
What keeps this issue burning is the apprehension that religion is not taken as seriously as it should be. Otherwise prayer should have been allowed in every private and public school without any argument. Moreover, whatever religion it is, it demands daily submission at specific timings. And a child who is in habit of praying from the very beginning eventually turns out to be a staunch believer and a good human being in every aspect and vice versa. Prayer is an everyday facet of life irrespective of religion.
And every religion teaches his followers to be people of prayer, just like their Prophets or founder of religion. For instance taking Christianity into consideration; When Christ’s disciples asked Him to educate them how to pray, He told them, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; search for and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9-10). Ephesians 6:18 says, “And pray in the Spirit on every event with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
” When a dreadful accident or an unexpected tragedy happen, it is common for many people to turn jointly to God in prayer for tranquility and assistance. Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. ” This autonomy is accessible to people in many government and community settings, consequently it is supposed to be allowed to children when they are at school. For these, and a lot of other reasons, every religion is concerned about the holy limitations they experience at schools.
Because of the inflexible margins on prayer in school, people often feel vulnerable when circumstances like these turn up, thinking that if they pray explicitly at school, anyone who is aggressive towards their faith can take lawful action against them. Now the question arises again, should prayer be permitted in school? When prayer is a genuine expression of one’s faith, certainly yes! People of any and all faiths should not have to feel frightened when they desire to pray in a public situation whether its school or any other public place. School employees and students similarly should be free to pray at school without any threat or fear.
Because of the variety of religions and beliefs, schools should create such an atmosphere of regard for people with religious fervor, not kill such expression. Safeguarding school children from examining and practicing another person’s religious expression does not foster understanding, it nurtures unawareness, and it hamper them of learning experience that broaden their horizon of understanding and living a better life. Every faith desires the right to pray openly in school because they consider that prayer incite God’s contribution in the school surroundings and the educational development.
In a sense, they want to pass on everything they have learn and do past God’s assessment so that He can give them knowledge and insight to distinguish what is right and superior, and what is fake or harmful. Keeping the above pointers in consideration, it is highly comprehensible and convincing to say that prayer should be allowed to be practiced freely in every school irrespective of caste creed or color. References Book Bowker, J. (2006). World Religions. Dk Adult Books.
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