Cognitive Dissonance with School Prayer

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Cognitive Dissonance with School Prayer On June 17th, 1963 school prayer was taken out of public schools because of a Supreme Court ruling that all students shouldn’t be subjected to prayer. As a result of this ruling, the teaching of the character and belief of the founding fathers, which played a large part in our country’s history, quickly decreased. Although never mentioned, the Supreme Court’s ruling suggested to the public that prayer in public schools was incongruent with the beliefs and attitudes upon which this country was founded? In the following report, I will attempt to present information concerning cognitive dissonance that will assist you in answering the aforementioned question. Purpose and Significance Cognitive dissonance occurs when inconsistencies with behaviors and attitudes/beliefs exist either within an individual or between two parties. More expressly, cognitive dissonance is when actions and values are different. The purpose of researching cognitive dissonance is to answer the following questions: 1. Is cognitive dissonance a good thing or a bad thing? What makes it good or bad? 2. How should we act, when faced with feelings of cognitive dissonance? I have used the experiences and views of modern people to collect information concerning cognitive dissonance. Also, I have researched the experiences of historical figures to learn more about how they successfully dealt with cognitive dissonance. We all experience some sort of cognitive dissonance in our lives; therefore, when we learn how to deal with it in a good way, we will come to new understandings and will be able to add value to organizations and to society as a whole. Cognitive Dissonance within the Individual Have you ever don... ... middle of paper ... ...s of cognitive dissonance? Or, was there a way to maintain the attitudes and values by just altering the behavior slightly? I submit that by keeping a time where gratitude was paid (whether to God or in general), many of the beliefs upon which this country was founded wouldn’t be forgotten. Cognitive Dissonance can be a good thing or a bad thing; it will be a good thing, if the individual(s) involved let their correct attitudes and beliefs guide their actions, and not the other way around. Bibliography: Padover, Saul Kussiel. The World of the Founding Fathers. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A.S. Barns, 1977 Stewart, John J. The Glory of Mormonism. Salt Lake City, Utah: Mercury Publishing Company, 1963. Internet Addresses: http://spot.colorado.com/~craigr/Dissonance/sld002.htm http://www.sunnygenesee.cc.ny.us/fac/tomczak/social/sld017.htm

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