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| − | Prayer was encouraged, allowed and practiced in public schools from colonial times until 1962, when the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Engel v. Vitale]] ''banned '''school prayer''' without citing a single decision as a precedent for its ruling.
| + | #REDIRECT [[Classroom prayer]] |
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| − | [[Atheistic]] groups herald this as a great victory for their ideology, as since 1962 taxpayers have been compelled to fund and support an atheistic culture for the 90% of [[Americans]] who attend [[public school]]. Supporters of the decision claim that there is a "separation of church and state" in the [[U.S. Constitution]], though no such phrase or prohibition exists in the document.
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| − | == Examples of wrongful suppression of student prayer ==
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| − | Since 1962, and primarily since the 1990s, many students across the country who engaged in prayer have found themselves targeted by overzealous teachers and school administrators.
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| − | In 1994, at Waring Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri, fourth-grader Raymond Raines was sent to the principal's office after a teacher spotted him bowing his head in prayer before lunch. Raymond was eventually separated from his classmates and given a week's detention for his continued prayers.<ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34772</ref> His mother, Ellen Raines, eventually withdrew Raymond from the school and enrolled him in a private school where he could practice his faith without persecution.<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E4DC1139F933A25751C1A962958260</ref>
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| − | On May 5, 1995, U.S. district judge issued a ruling against students uttering the name of Jesus during prayer at the high school graduation, stating, "And make no mistake, the court is going to have a United States marshal in attendance at the graduation. If any student offends this court, that student will be summarily arrested and will face up to six months incarceration in the Galveston County Jail for contempt of court. Anyone who thinks I'm kidding about this better think again. Anyone who violates these orders, no kidding, is going to wish that he or she had died as a child when this court gets through with it."<ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56479</ref>
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| − | On January 15, 2002, in Wilton, New York, kindergartener Kayla Broadus was stopped by her teacher from saying the "God is great, God is good" table prayer out loud with her friends before snack time.<ref>http://www.cjonline.com/stories/041302/usw_nation.shtml</ref> The Saratoga Springs City school district sided with the teacher, claiming the prayer was a violation of the supposedly constitutional "separation of church and state." Kayla's parents filed a lawsuit against the school and received a temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge David Hurd on Februrary 5, 2002, against the school's suppression of Kayla's prayer. On Februrary 8, 2002, Judge Hurd issued a preliminary injunction against the school ordering it to allow Kayla to say grace with her friends. Following the injunction, the school decided to settle the embarrassing case, saying that Kayla could pray without inviting her friends to join her.
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| − | [[Category:Politics]]
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| − | [[category:Establishment Clause]]
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