“The paradox of our time in history is that…we have higher incomes, but lower morals…” --Rachel Joy Scott

            Why is it that our level of morality has decreased so much? Where did we go wrong? Maybe it was the economic boom right after World War II. Or possibly, our virtues dwindled with the increase of communication, transportation, and media: maybe the new interstate roads made it easier for people to leave their homes but also leave their values. No, neither of the above are that major. Perhaps it was in 1962, when Madalyn Murray O’Hair took her case against school prayer to the Supreme Court. Maybe it was when her son, Bill Murray O’Hair, stood up in class and pronounced that he would not recite the pledge of allegiance or the Lord’s Prayer, in 1959. Yes, that was when our standards for living became less important in our daily lives. That was when our values and morals didn’t matter so much anymore. That was when we became so absorbed in the things of this world that we forgot what we had built our society on. We fell into the pit that we, ourselves had dug. School prayer is needed desperately today and should have been continued.

            In the following paragraphs are statistics of before and after prayer was taken out of schools. Before prayer was banned from school assemblies in 1963, students and schools had a great sense of stability. But then there was decline. From 1963 to 1988, suicide, as well as pregnancies to unwed mothers was up 400%. For girls aged 10 to 14, pregnancies had increased 553% since 1963. Education was also affected. SAT scores steadily declined for 18 years after prayer was taken out. Only when a larger population of private Christian schools arose did SAT scores increase. Three times as many of the top academic scholars came from private schools. SAT scores in private schools were nearly 100 points higher than in public schools. 

The removal of school prayer not only affected education, but also moral standards. Top offenses in public schools before prayer was banned were things such as chewing gum, running in the hallways, getting out of place in line, and talking. Now, it's things much more severe: rape, stealing, homicide, drug abuse, pregnancies and abortions, gangs, assault, and bombings. None of the "before" problems even make the "after" list! Since 1963, violence has gotten worse. Around 282,000 secondary school students said they were attacked in school in a one-month period of time. Even teachers were assaulted. Attacks on teachers were nearly five times more likely to end in serious injury than attacks on students.

There is probably also a relationship between the banning of prayer and the nation’s decline. The rate of violent crime has increased nearly 550%. Individuals' alcohol consumption has risen 35%. National productivity has decreased 80%. Almost 30 million citizens have been lost to us due to legal abortion since 1973. With these statistics it is obvious that taking prayer out of schools was a bad idea. Where would we be if we still had school prayer? Where would we be if we had taken it out sooner? 

Statistics barely show the half of it. Numbers and logic could never explain the effect on students, parents, and teachers since the riddance of school prayer. A teacher at a school in St. Louis noticed a worthy “criminal” praying before his lunch. He was fourth grader, Raymond Raines. The teacher marched her way over to him, immediately commanded him to stop and took him to the principal’s office. “Prayer is not allowed,” was the phrase pounded into his head. Yet, he was caught three more times praying over his meal. At this, he was isolated from other students, made the laughingstock of his peers, and had to spend a week in detention. That is ridiculous! What harm was he inflicting on anyone else, unless he was praying that his sandwich be demolished and blown to pieces?

Another incident of a “sure to be” juvenile delinquent praying was in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Kayla Broadus was spotted holding hands with two of her classmates as she was reciting the prayer, “God is good, God is great, thank you, God, for my food.” The teacher, obviously enraged at this, pounced on Kayla, gave her a severe scolding, and sent her to the school administration. Not too long afterwards, the principal sent a strongly worded letter to Kayla’s parents, notifying them that she was not to pray at school. The school board gloated about the reprimanding they had done. How triumphant they had been, to stop a kindergartener from praying before a snack! However, Kayla’s mother won a lawsuit that allowed Kayla to pray out loud, though not permitting her to hold hands. Holding hands would most definitely bring up the whole “cooties” controversy!

School prayer encourages students as well as teachers. One special education teacher, Hugh Chapman, told about how prayer with a student, Jason Banning, changed his life. Jason Banning had spina bifida, an inborn defect of the vertebrae. One day, Jason asked Mr. Chapman to pray with him for his grandfather who was sick. Mr. Chapman hesitated and then told Jason that he couldn’t pray with him—he was concerned that it might endanger his job if someone caught him praying. Later, he realized:

“It is a sad world indeed, when a public school teacher is so wrapped up in the system that he is afraid to pray with a frightened child.”

Afterwards, Jason and Mr. Chapman prayed together many times. They even came up with a code. For Jason to show that he was praying, he would arrange the two pencils that he laid on his desk to form a cross. Then, they both could pray silently at the same time. Jason went from being a special education student to being a best friend. Then, Mr. Chapman says, he became more like a son to him. Jason was in 11^th grade the last time he and Mr. Chapman prayed together. He died of complications two weeks after heart surgery. Prayer encouraged both of these people. Mr. Chapman should never have had to question whether or not to pray with Jason. He should never have had to worry about keeping his job. But that’s the kind of country we live in: the kind that makes it illegal to pray, illegal to have a simple conversation with God, illegal to encourage someone going through a hard time in a public school.

“First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”

This is the argument thrown against school prayer all the time. However, we must remember that the men who wrote the constitution wrote it under God. They wrote it in the Christian faith. Our nation was built on Godly principles. The first amendment clearly states that we have freedom to choose what God or gods we follow, freedom to express our beliefs without persecution. Also, isn’t it ironic that the same Congress that wrote this amendment also appointed a chaplain to the House, the Senate, and the armed forces? 

In an argument against school prayer, it was stated, “Religion plays only a minor role in [our] lives, if not at all.” If this is true, why is it that in 2002, only 10% of people considered themselves unaffiliated with religion?  Religion plays a MAJOR role in the lives of many people, not just in America, but all around the world.  As a matter of fact, only 16% of people all around the world consider themselves “nonreligious”.

Many would claim that the reason for all the statistics stated earlier would be simply because of the change in society. Well, then, here’s a question: What made society change? Yes, technology, fashion, and new ideas take partial responsibility, but the major reason is the absence of school prayer! In 1963, when prayer was banned from school assemblies, there was a decline in morals and an increase in illicit sex, drugs, homicides, and criminal acts of violence. 

             Ironically, atheists say that even Jesus took a position against school prayer.

“…When you pray, enter into your closet, and when you shut the door, pray to your Father in the secret…” --Matthew 6:5-6

First of all, since when did atheists even believe Jesus existed? Precisely when they needed him in an argument. Secondly, they have taken this verse way out of context! It truly means that when you pray, you shouldn’t do it to prove to everyone around you that you can pray. When you pray, you pray with your heart focused on God completely: prayer to God, not to the others around you, who might happen to be listening or watching. This verse does not mean that you shouldn’t pray with others, but that you should pray with total reverence to God. 

A question was brought up about the ‘moment of silence’. Shouldn’t every ‘moment’ of the school day be used for learning and education, instead of praying? What is one minute in the morning out of seven hours of the school day? There are four to six minutes in between classes where the only learning students are doing is about “what she’s wearing” or “who’s going out with whom” and so on. Shouldn’t those moments be used for learning? What about the hours after exams spent waiting on the bell to ring? Or the time used for morning and afternoon announcements? What about after school hours and weekends? Shouldn’t those be used for learning? How about summer? Shouldn’t students be learning then? Truth is, people have lives and a big part of them is religion and prayer.