Should Religion Be Removed From Schools Essay - 1370 Words

Religion in schools is consistently being disputed among schools, students, and government alike. What reasons are there that justify that religion should be taken out of school? Freedom of religion is a pillar of which that holds the foundation of this country, yet it is so heavily discriminated against. The problem lies not in the various religions but in the lack of protection of religion, especially in schools. As said by Richard W.Riley Public schools can neither foster religion nor preclude it. Our public schools must treat religion with fairness and respect and vigorously protect religious expression as well as the freedom of conscience of all other students. In so doing our public schools reaffirm the First Amendment and enrich†¦show more content†¦(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp)According to angelfire.com, In New Hyde Park, New York, 1962, each school day began with a spoken recital of a prayer. Although this prayer was meant to be non-denominational, many parents of the children who went to school in New Hyde Park found this mandated prayer offensive and did not want their children participating. The Supreme Court case Engel v.Vitale was then formed against this prayer. Engelv. Vitale resulted in the recital of a prayer in schools to be unconstitutional and was no longer allowed in schools of New York. (http://www.angelfire.com/il/schalten/supreme3.html)In another small case, school faculty was forced to remove holiday decorations because it was found to be offensive to people of different religions. Another case was an attempt to remove the words â€Å"under God† from the Pledge of Allegiance, because people believed that â€Å"under God† in the Pledge of Allegiance was overstepping the separation of church and State. The case lost its appeal though and never made it to the Supreme Court. The cases above and many others show that it is unconstitutional to require or force any religious pract ices. School has become a place of neutral religion not to be pressed upon students nor suppressed. In a letter sent by Rod Paige, Secretary of Education in 2003, he states, regarding students rights in school, â€Å"Among other things,Show MoreRelatedThe Role of Religions in America680 Words   |  3 Pages Did you know that according to Procon’s polls, there are over 300 religions in the United States? Monotheisms, polytheisms, pantheisms, and atheism make up these 300 religions. Although the United States may be one of the freest countries in many fields such as freedom of the press, its censorship level is the fourth lowest in the world according to Reporters Without Borders, I believe that freedom of religion isn’t one of its more free fields. 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