On June 25, 1962, in the court case Engel v. Vitale, considered by many to be one of the most important cases in the history of the Supreme Court’s church/state decisions, the Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 that it was unconstitutional for a government agency like a school or government agents like public school employees to require students to recite prayers (about.com 1).

Everybody knows the Golden Rule which states, “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.” It is true that, according to the Golden Rule, Christians should not perform acts which offend other people. The verse Matthew 6:6 in the bible also does prohibit Christians from engaging in public prayer. The author of the Gospel of Matthew contrasted public and private prayer. He recorded Jesus as saying:

Many Christians have written essays, prayers or poems about school prayer. They frequently contain assumptions about prayer in the public schools which conflict with actual legislation. It is true that students in some school districts have been forbidden to carry their Bible to school, or to wear a religious T-shirt to class. However, these local regulations are made by school officials in violation of the U.S. Constitution and of federal and state laws. Usually, a brief discussion between a lawyer specializing in civil rights matters and school officials quickly clears up the conflict. Praying in school is not against the law. In fact, the U.S. Constitution guarantees students the right to pray in public schools; it is a protected form of free speech. A student can pray on the school bus, in the corridors, in the cafeteria, in their student-run Bible club, at the flagpole, sports stadium, and elsewhere on school grounds. They can even pray silently before and after class in the classroom. They are not allowed to pray exclusively Christian prayers as an organized part of the school schedule. However, they may be able to hear or read prayers from a variety of religious traditions and inspiring statements from secular sources. Prayers cannot solely b

Some topics in this essay:
Billy Graham, Gospel Matthew, United America, Supreme Court, Court Appeals, Allegiance Originally, Constitution Bible, Rule Christians, President Eisenhower, Golden Rule, public schools, religion public, religion public schools, matthew 66, golden rule, thou prayest, public school, god everyday, school prayer, separation church, public prayer,