New Georgia bill would allow prayer back in schools

Mike Gallagher

Feb 9, 2016 - 05:34

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New Georgia bill would allow prayer back in schools

Faith leaders, the Legislative Clergy Council and a group of students from Morehouse College strongly showed their support for bipartisan House Bill 816 Monday.

Students and faith leaders gathered on the steps of the state Capitol on Monday to show support for a bill that would allow prayer back in schools.

House Bill 816, also known as Georgia Student Religious Liberties Act of 2016, would allow ”students in local schools (to) pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school day."

It's an uphill battle for supporters, who are fighting a decades old Supreme Court ruling that banned prayer in school.

”(In) 1962 the Supreme Court made this ruling and, what we've noticed since the Supreme Court ruling, there has been an increase in violence, murder, teen pregnancy, divorce rate, said Sabrina McKenzie with the Legislative Clergy Council. ”If you don’t think prayer is the answer, then what is the answer?

Members of McKenzie’s group joined several Morehouse College students and faith leaders with signs in support of the bill. Similar rallies are also happening in seven other states.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia says it will fight the bill. The executive director, Maya Dillard Smith, told local reporters, ”There is a conce that the law specifically creates a limited public forum, which means the govement then gets to decide more leeway on what speech is included and what is not. You could have a hodge podge of laws from county to county.

The ACLU also said the way the law is written now, it may lead to unintended consequences, which could then lead to lawsuits down the line. It said it wants to educate lawmakers behind the bill.

7 reasons why prayer does not belong in public schools:

It would violate the Constitution. That document clearly calls for the separation of church and state. Those who wrote it knew history. They knew how horrible and oppressive life could be when the two were not separated. All attempts to circumvent this provision have been struck down by the courts and will continue to be.
It would not be fair or just. Most of those advocating prayer in schools are advocating Christian prayer. If Christian prayer were to be allowed, then prayers of other religions (Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, etc.) would have to be allowed as well. They are citizens and pay taxes that build, operate, and maintain schools; therefore, they have equal rights.
It would be a terrible burden on the schools. Teaching and monitoring religion is not the purpose of public schools, and they are not trained or equipped to do it.
The places for prayer and religious instruction are the home, the church, the synagogue, the mosque, etc. It is the parent's responsibility to education their children in religious matters, not the schools.
The advocates of prayer in schools may have less than Christian reasons for their advocacy; reasons like getting elected or re-elected to public office by sincere, but uninformed voters.
Robert Wilkerson
Jesus Christ would not vote for prayer in public schools. He never forced himself, his teachings, or his prayers on anyone.
Prayer still exists in the schools, but it exists quietly and privately in the hearts and minds of the students and staff. As one young girl told me one day—"Prayer will never be taken out of schools as long as there are final exams."