Here's the claim:
"If we brought back prayer in school, there would be less violence. We should stop catering to the atheists."
The first problem with this claim should be obvious (at least for anyone who didn't sleep through their Social Studies class in middle school):
Policies regarding religion in this country aren't designed to protect atheists, but other religious sects. The reason that religion can't be taught or practiced in public schools is because we would then have to decide which religion to teach. Whose beliefs would we favor over the others?
It has nothing to do with not wanting to offend atheists, but wanting to provide an equal opportunity for religious practice to all faiths.
Second, praying is not prohibited at school. At least, not at any school that I have ever attended. You might catch the occasional curious glance, but, if you're doing it on your own time (say at lunch, to bless your food), no school official is going to come by and tell you to stop.
Third, if you believe that prayer in school is the answer to violence in today's world, you need a serious refresher course in Violence Today, Yesterday AND ALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY. You may also want to look into having someone check your brain to make sure it isn't broken, just for good measure.
Because there are really too many examples of religious-inspired violence, let's take a step back and just throw out a few major examples for examination - starting with one of the greatest tragedies in modern American history.
- Was it not a devoutly religious organization that hijacked American planes and purposely crashed them into occupied buildings, killing thousands of innocent people under the pretense that they were serving God? Do you think that they prayed in school? Without a doubt. You know that they believed "in their hearts" that they were following the one true righteous path as much as (if not more) than any Christian, Jew, Buddhist or what have you, in this country. But, they had the right idea with the praying in school part.
- Have we all forgotten that the contant fighting and bombing going on in Iraq is due, in large part, because of the struggle between two groups divided by religious beliefs held so strong that it drives them to kill their neighbors for having a different faith?
If you believe that it's only the Islamic faith that can inspire this sort of violence, and that Christianity is immune to killing otherwise innocent people (besides the not being Christian part), then you should consider retaking European History 101.
Read: The Spanish Inquisition.
For over 300 years, Christians reigned hell on any one who didn't agree to convert, or wasn't already a part of their religion. More specifically, Catholics thought it appropriate to torture and kill any person who was not also Catholic.
During this time, people accused of heresy were subject to jailing, torture, whipping, exile, and execution as punishement for not following the Catholic church. For those who were schooled, prayer was undoubtedly the most important part of their education.
For more information about the Spanish Inquisition, follow one of the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_inquisition#Other_offenseshttp://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.htmlhttp://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/history/inquisition.asphttp://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/margin/heresy.htmFor more information regarding other acts of violence committed in the name of religion, drop by your local bookstore and pick up any reputable history book.
There also seems to be a rumor circulating the internet that there is more violence today than in the past (purportedly because of the lack of prayer in school).
I don't mean to start getting redundant, but I find it fascinating what a poor understanding of history people seem to poses.
In societies past, people would gather in the town square to watch a hanging, or a witch burn. Fighting on school grounds has become increasingly intollerable. Kids used to get their hands slapped with rulers for minor infractions, but it makes us squeamish these days to even discuss whether or not parents should be allowed to spank children.
The world isn't getting more violent, we're getting more sensitive to it. We are also much more aware of any violence that takes place around the world than we have ever been.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't pray, or be allowed to pray, I just don't think that the "problem with this country" is the absense of prayer in school.