For as much as
I believe in God and the power of prayer, I’m often surprised by the calling
for mandated school prayer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to the idea of
people praying together in school, per se;
truth be told, I’d be in favor of it *if* we all had the same spiritual beliefs. But we don’t. We are a very diverse society, not to mention the fact that we live in a
country founded on a number of core principles, one of them being religious
freedom. Our children come from different families and cultures, with different
religious and non-religious backgrounds. Even that statement could open a whole
separate discussion on what it means to religious, or event spiritual, etc. Therefore,
while nothing should ever stop a child who wants to pray on his or her own from
doing so, I find myself at odds with the idea of making group prayer an
organized activity in a public school.
Aside from the
above, when I see people shaming the absence of mandated prayer time in school,
I wonder to myself, how many of those protesters are stressing the importance
of prayer at home, with their own children. The home is such important place
for children to learn about spiritual and moral principles, as well as for
parents who believe in the importance and utility of prayer to teach that to their
children. Perhaps the energy spent trying to socialize a need for mandated prayer would be better invested if we were to encourage one another to make
prayer a priority in the home.
Furthermore,
and perhaps even more importantly, an absence of prayer in school does not
have to mean an absence of God. Without forcing anyone to pray or to pray in a
certain way or with certain terminology, we can still bring God into our schools; we can do this through the very values we help our children carry as they walk
into school each day and interact with their fellow classmates. We must take
the time, at home, to teach our children (both by words and by example) about kindness,
humility, respect, forgiveness, and patience. We have to educate them about the
importance of empathy and helping others. We should encourage them to stand up
for others unable to defend themselves. We need to help them develop courage as
they face different challenges. We ought to instill in them a love of nature.
And the list goes on.
In light of
recent events in our country, I have seen this wording displayed on t-shirts,
posters, and memes, as well as being illustrated in comics and used for points in
debate.
“Dear God,
Why do you allow so much
violence in our schools?
Signed,"
- A Concerned Student.
“Dear Concerned Student,
I'm not allowed in schools."
- God
Well, in reality, God is always
allowed in schools. Ironically, our religious freedom granted by the US constitution
actually protects the rights of all individuals, including students, to pray on their own
in and accordance with their particular beliefs should they desire to do so. I’m thankful for this because, as a Spiritist,
to me prayer is very important. I believe it is important for children to be
taught both why to pray and what it means to pray and that we as parents and
other caretakers in their homes and spiritual communities should help them
develop the practice. Like the moral
values mentioned above, children can take this with them wherever they go,
including school. They can know that when they want to ask God for help from or
give thanks, they only need to direct their thoughts to God or to their spiritual mentors.
That said, if
God is allowed but not brought into school as we’d like, that is
evidenced by different circumstances than what the above-mentioned wording alludes
to. Instead,
if we taught children to be
compassionate,
if we nurtured our children’s
emotional intelligence and taught them kindness and respect, and
if we put more emphasis on resolving
and preventing bullying,
then, with this to begin with, God would be more present
than ever in our schools.
Furthermore,
if we could ensure that all
children had the chance to learn on full stomachs and well-nourished bodies,
if we could make certain to
include the arts as a part of every child’s education,
if our schools could be
adequately staffed, with enough teachers for healthy class-sizes and with enough
counselors to give children and parents the attention they need,
and more,
we’d go even
further to bring God’s love to children and those whom we entrust with their
care during some of the most formative years of their lives.
◊ ◊ ◊
Rather than
prayer or even the mention of God by name in public schools, we sincerely need the essence of God – love and
compassion.
Thank you for reading.
Blessings to all, today and always
Heather
