Why we should put prayer and the 10 commandments back in schools!!!!! The legal parameters and guidelines for prayer in school have been very clearly defined, but the question, "should prayer be allowed in school?" keeps coming up. What keeps this issue hot is the concern that we Christians have that the current legal code restricts the freedom they have had in the past to openly practice their faith. When a tragic accident or a sudden disaster occurs, it is normal for many people to turn together to God in prayer for comfort and help. Psalm 50:15 says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”This freedom is offered to people in many government and public settings, so it should also be allowed to young people while they are at school!! <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Prayer in Colonial Schools:

In Colonial America, home schooling and the schools run by the churches were very common. The first settlers in America felt that it was important that children learned to read so they could read their Bibles. Learning right from wrong and developing good moral character were considered as important as learning the 3R's. School Prayer was a natural part of the Pilgrims school life. The Churches played a big part in the formation of schools in America:

Bible Reading & School Prayer:

As part of the daily curriculum, students were taught to pray and read using the Bible. Later in 1690 the New England Primer was introduced which taught spelling, reading and the Alphabet using Bible verses, thus teaching both reading and Bible morals at the same time. Daily school prayer was a natural part of this educational system. After the American Revolution, Noah Webster introduced the Blue Book Speller which also used Bible verses to teach reading and spelling. In 1836 the McGuffey Reader was introduced which also featured Bible verses to teach moral values. This school system produced some of the world’s brightest inventors and set the Industrial Revolution in motion. The schools continued to be run mostly by Christian Churches until the 1890's at which point States started to take control of the existing schools. By 1900 many other text books were in use and they all had Bible quotes in them.

School System Changes:

As the 20th Century began many classrooms started each day with the pledge of allegiance, a prayer and a reading from the Bible. Many Churches turned their schools over the State run educational system. State run schools continued to teach moral values using the McGuffey reader with its Bible verses. America had one of the best school systems in the world. The first crack in the moral school system occurred, in 1925 when the newly formed ACLU paid a teacher in Tennessee to teach Evolution. Biblical creation had been taught throughout the land, and teaching evolution was against the Tennessee state law. While the ACLU lost the case, it set in motion a re-evaluation of teaching science. Within four decades the laws were reversed so that now teaching Creation is outlawed and teaching Evolution is mandatory.

Today's Schools without Prayer:

The ACLU then started using the courts to change school policy. In 1948 the Supreme Court used the "Separation of Church and State" argument to outlaw a time for school prayer. In 1962 the Supreme Court again declared that prayer in school was unconstitutional. In 1963 the Warren Court stopped schools from allowing Bible reading in classes. In 1980 the Supreme Court declared that posting the Ten Commandments in a school classroom violated the Constitution of the United States.

Thus while the early American schools taught the moral values from the Bible, with school prayer, today's public school system prohibit teaching moral values from the Bible, or even allowing students to pray to a God that a majority of faiths in this country recognize. The result is America has become a land with much looser morals then 4 decades ago, which is having a negative effect on all sectors of our society. History shows us that when societies become corrupt they begin to come apart and crumble.

The claim is made by the ACLU that these violate the Constitution, but then why did the founding fathers have, Bible reading, School Prayer and the Ten Commandments in their schools? Did they not understand their own Constitution? A Nation that refuses to teach its children right from wrong, good from evil will become a corrupt nation, where sin prevails, evil abounds, and children do as they please!

I believe that prayer and The Ten Commandments should be in all schools, public buildings, Government Offices, at ball games and all public gatherings. If prayer were said more our country would not be in the shape it’s in now children up to adults would have more respect for others and themselves. Our Country was born on Religious Freedom and we are destroying this because one or two people are offended. I pray to God for our Government Officials every day that they make the right choices.