Posted by Andy [65.123.82.92 - ] on 21 July 2002 at 09.49.47 ZuluTime:
In Reply to: Why it's wrong posted by Baron Greenback on 21 July 2002 at 03.44.33 ZuluTime:
There was a more important part of what I said. Teachers and students have been forbidden, fired, expelled (at least threatened if not actually expelled) for praying at school and at school functions. Prayer is not hurting anybody. I would have no problem with having a Christian nation, but since we do have the law stating that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, I have to respect that and agree, schools should not force a religion down someone's throat. Schools should not tell a student how to believe. Schools should not tell their teachers how to believe. Schools shouldn't be able to tell their Native American students that it is religiously wrong to smoke peote.
However, it could be considered wrong to smoke peote on school property, since it is illegal to smoke ANYTHING on school property. It could be considered illegal to smoke peote, if it is illegal to smoke peote off of a reservation. Just because something can't be denied religiously, doesn't mean it is right.
Since teachers are allowed the right to speak in public, they are not forbidden from telling stories in their classrooms which do not pertain to the subject being taught, they should also not be forbidden from prayers. My biology teacher in high school used to tell us stories about how he would drop cinder blocks 4 stories with a mouse bound to the underside. At the time, we were discussing DNA, had nothing to do with our learning. However, nobody has put limits on him to tell him he may only utter words that have a direct benefit on our scholastic career.