Prayer in Public Schools

The issue of prayer in public schools has been the subject of intense debate. That is because religious people would like for their children to be able to follow their religious teachings by praying in school but people who are not religious would prefer that religion was kept out of the public schools altogether. Prayer in public schools is also sometimes a problem for people who are religious but whose religions are not the religious traditions recognized in school prayers. The debate actually demonstrates the two fundamental ideas addressed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: (1) the establishment of religion by the government; and (2) the infringement of the free exercise of religion by the government.

The Two Constitutional Issues: Religious Infringement and Religious Establishment

When the Colonialists first left Britain to establish a new society in North America, one of the most important...
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