No Forced Prayer in Schools
Anju Kaur
The first letter-to-the-editor I ever had published was the one I sent to the
Orlando Sentinel when I was 15. The debate at the time was government sponsored
prayer in public schools. I wrote in opposition to that idea. So when I saw
the recent
article in the Orlando Sentinel, "Speakers Weigh Religion's Place in
Public Education," I could not help but say, "here we go again.
Having attended Florida public schools, from elementary through college, I can
safely say that it is a conservative environment. Even with the taboo of mixing
religion and public education, I remember decorating Christmas trees and singing
Christmas carols in elementary and middle school. In high school, I remember
many of my classmates organizing morning prayers before class, praying before
football games, and organizing an evening mass in the school auditorium before
graduation day. No one was stopping them, they were free to do what they wanted.
And I was free to walk away from it.
So with all the prayer that was going on around me, why did people feel a need
to have a school sponsored prayer service at the beginning of every school day?
I did not want to be part of a captive audience required to listen to someone
praying. What would the prayer say? And what if I did not agree?
I felt uncomfortable and pressured in school. I did not mind my classmates
asking the occasional questions like "What God do you believe in?"
or "What is that on your brother's head?" Kids are naturally curious.
But starting a state-sponsored prayer.... well, I was afraid of what that would
lead to because kids can also be very cruel. That fear was what prompted me
to write my first article.
I have always felt that religion needs to thrive on it's own, and it will.
It doesn't need government interference nor does it need government support.
The framers of the Constitution, themselves, had escaped religious persecution
and they understood the grave consequences of mixing government and religion.
There is no mention of God in the U.S. Constitution even though several state
constitutions did at the time. It is conspicuous by its absence.
Now when I read about the goal of religious leaders to teach religion in public
schools, I cringe. We have comparative religion classes offered in colleges.
And the new voucher program has opened up opportunities for parents to put their
kids in parochial schools at the taxpayers' expense. So let's leave religion
out of the K-12 public school system. As a parent, I want to be the first and
only person to teach my kids about God and religion.
My son attends a Maryland pre-school program. During the holidays, his class
learned about different religious traditions. Last year he came home and told
me about Santa Claus, reindeers, the menorah, and Kwanza. Well, I panicked and
wrote to the teacher that I did not want any religion taught to my son. She
explained that they were not teaching religion but that they were sharing holiday
traditions. I still felt very uncomfortable. I had not talked to him about different
religions. He was four-years-old and too young to understand, but that discussion
had to take place, ready or not.
How does one balance a parent's right to teach religion to their own kids while
not completely ignoring our secular society? I don't know. But I certainly think
that religious teaching should be left to the parents, not the public schools.
This year the teachers have offered us the chance to come talk about Sikh holiday traditions. I am planning on using the opportunity to talk about who Sikhs are and their defense of religious tolerance. If you can't beat 'um, join 'um - right?