Prayer At Sporting Events

547 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sports influence on society

Prayer in Sporting Events

The Government is too preoccupied with pleasing a select few by removing prayer from sporting events than they are with running the country. This is a problem that can be fixed and should be.
The reason for student led prayers at sporting events is for a God they believe in to grant the safety of the players on the field and the fans going home. After all, Christians are in the majority. It’s a thirty second prayer that isn’t going to hurt a single person. (Gholson) At Celina High School, Celina, Texas, the students and administration completely ignored the ruling of the courts by continuing to have student led prayers before football games. The students wore orange and white shirts that read “We pray before we play!” And the town’s people constructed a large billboard that read, “We answer to a higher Judge than you!”(Kay, G) That is the kind of attitude that other towns need to overcome the government on a ruling that is to be honest, absolutely ridiculous. (Kay, J)
Some People get offended way too easily. Some atheist goes to a high school football game, hears a kid say a short prayer before the game and gets offended. So he hires a lawyer and goes to court and asks somebody to pay him a whole bunch of money for all the damage done to him. Damaged for life by a thirty second prayer? I don’t believe in Santa Claus, but I’m not going to sue somebody for sing...

Show More
Related

  • Jaffree v. Wallace Supreme Court Case: Analysis

    3073 Words  | 7 Pages

    In 1971 in Mobile County Alabama the School Board created a state statute that set aside time at the beginning of each day for silent ’meditation’ (statute 6-1-20), and in 1981 they added another statute 16-1-20.1 which set aside a minute for ‘silent prayer’ as well. In addition to these, in 1982 the Mobile County School Board enacted statute 16-1-20.2, which specified a prayer that teachers could lead ‘willing’ students in “From henceforth, any teacher or professor in any public educational institution within the State of Alabama, recognizing that the Lord God is one, at the beginning of any homeroom or any class, may pray, may lead willing students in prayer, or may lead the willing students in the following prayer to God… “ (Jaffree By and Through Jaffree v. James). Ishmael Jaffree was the father of three students, Jamael Aakki Jaffree, Makeba Green, and Chioke Saleem Jaffree, who attended a school in Mobile County Alabama. Jaffree complained that his children had been pressured into participating in religious activities by their teachers and their peers, and that he had requested that these activities stopped. When the school did nothing about Jaffree’s complaints he filed an official complaint with the Mobile County School Board through the United States District Courts. The original complaint never mentioned the three state statutes that involved school prayer. However, on June 4, 1982 Jaffree changed his complaint. He now wanted to challenge the constitutionality of statutes 16-1-20, 16-1-20.1 and 16-1-20.2, and motioned for a preliminary injunction. The argument against these state laws was that they were an infringement of the Establishment Clause within the First Amendment of the Constitution, which states that Congr...

    Read More

  • Abington V. Schempp Case Study

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    This example of a Supreme Court case shows that the court is not above politics. Even though most Americans, including government officials, practiced some form of Christianity, the judges were not willing to compromise the information in the Constitution for the popular beliefs of individuals. I agree with the Supreme Court in its decision to ban the practice of prayer in public schools. Not only does it violate the Constitution, but it encroaches on our freedom of thought and action. Being excluded from a public classroom because of personal beliefs does not sound just.

    Read More

  • Elk Grove Unified School District V Newdow Summary

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    The daughter of an atheist, Michael A. Newdow, attended public school in the Elk Grove Unified School District in California, where teachers started school days by leading students in a voluntary narration of the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge included the phrase “under God”, which was added to it in 1994 through a Congressional act. The atheist sued the school district in federal district court in the state on the basis that making students listen to the phrase even if they were not willing to participate was an infringement on the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He had argued that his right to influence the religious views of his daugh...

    Read More

  • Prayer in School: One Hypocrisy of Our Democracy

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prayer in public schools became an issue in 1960: Madalyn Murray O'Hair sued the Baltimore MD school system on behalf of her son William J Murray, because he was being forced to participate in prayer in schools. Ultimately, her actions and the actions of the American Atheist Organization resulted in the Supreme Court ruling of 1962. (Tragically, she disappeared in August of 1995. In January 2001, a full five and a half years after they were last seen, the bodies of the Murray-O’Hairs were finally found on a sprawling ranch near the little town of Camp Wood, Tex.)

    Read More

  • Engel Vs Vitale Essay

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1958 five parents of the Long Island community brought suit to stop the prayers use in schools. Two parents were Jewish; one parent was a Unitarian, One a member of The Ethical Culture Society and One Self-Professed Atheist. At first the lawsuit failed. Justice Bernard S. Meyer found the prayer religious but not in violation. Instead, Justice Meyer ordered the schools to set up safe guards against “embarrassing and pressures” towards children who did not wish to participate. The New York Appellate Division upheld this decision along with the state’s Court of Appeals, by a vote of 5-2.

    Read More

  • The Pledge Of Allegiance

    1560 Words  | 4 Pages

    The case Elk Grove Unified School District versus Newdow came about when a student parent, Michael Newdow, an atheist, has a disagreement with the Pledge of Allegiance. Elk Grove Unified School District is a public elementary school where teachers begin the day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, but it is considering being voluntary. Under California law, all elementary schools must recite the Pledge of Allegiance once a day unless those student object due to their religion. As stated before, in 1954 the Congressional Act added the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Michael Newdow took it upon himself to review the School District policy referring to the religious portion. This caused Michael Newdow to sue in the federal district court in California, stating making students listen to the Pledge of Allegiance, even if the students do not choose to participate to the word “under God” violates the establishment clause of the United States Constitution’s First Amendment

    Read More

  • The Religious Right and the Crusade to Preserve Religion

    2157 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper was written for my Writing 209 class. For the assignment ,Donna Marsh, asked us to find an article in a periodical that dealt with an issue in our American culture. We were then told to express our opinion on the topic discussed in the article and to analyze the argument presented in the article. I chose the topic of school prayer because I believe strongly in the separation of church and state that exists in our country. This is a controversial issue that is worthy of discussion, and hopefully my essay will provoke you in some manner whether you agree with my premise or feel that the views I express are totally invalid.

    Read More

  • Religion in Public Schools

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prohibiting School Prayer Threatens Religious Liberty. Civil Liberties. Ed. James D. Torr. -. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: Religion and School Prayer in Public School

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prayer in School: Good or Bad? As secular humanists and groups like the Christian Coalition are at war with each other regarding prayer in high schools behind closed doors in Washington DC, the average high school kid is the one that gets caught in the middle. For years now there has been a heated debate about whether or not prayer should be allowed in school. Every time the argument is rekindled, it ends in a stalemate, and is a topic that campaigning politicians tend to stay away from.

    Read More

  • Executive Branch In Public Schools

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    This paper discusses how the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States government interact to allow each individual in a public school freedom to pray while not endorsing any religion.

    Read More

  • Essay On Controversy Over Religion In Schools

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    "God help, I'm so lost!" If you listen carefully, this is a common thought that is heard throughout many schools in the nation. Is this thought appropriate? The following statement clearly shows that the law allows students and adults to practice religion, but at the same time be respective of others and their beliefs even if they do believe or if they don't. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or to petition the government for a redress of grievances." (First Amendment, The Constitution of the United States). Prayer is not normally permitted as a scheduled part of classroom activities, because it would result in the violation of the principle of church-state separation, which has been defined by court interpretations of the 1st Amendment to the U.S, Constitution. The separation principle is extended to Public school as an arm of the government, with an exception which can be permitted if, during the school year, a mixture of prayers, statements, etc are delivered, using material derived from a number of different religions and secular sources. So far, this has never been tried in a school or ruled upon by a court (Religion in Public).

    Read More

  • Sport and Religion

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    I believe the question posed by Prebish asking whether sport is a parallel to religion or identical means that sport is very closely related to the same principles. It is an organized institution dealing with faith, discipline, tradition, rituals, and has devout followers, as does the religious institution. When a sport can bring its followers to an experience of the ultimate plateau of complete focus, oneness, devotion, and the quest for salvation, I believe this is identical to religion.

    Read More

  • Worship of Sports Teams and Athletes

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thirty, twenty, ten, touchdown, and the Redskins win! With that one play the mood of all those Redskins fans went through the roof and the moods of the opposing teams fans dropped. Fans across the nation follow every stat, every play, and every game of their favorite sports teams. If you ask any football fan what Sunday means they will probably reply football and drinking with the guys instead of church. Is it a good thing that people plan their lives around what time their teams’ play? When you base your life around a single sports team or a favorite athlete then it can be very problematic. Worship of sports teams and athletes is damaging to society; it can cause you to lose focus on your real goals, can lead to physiological problems, and can even lead to physical harm and violence. Worship of sports teams and athletes is damaging to society.

    Read More

  • Called to Fulfill the Great Commission

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    “That’s quite simple. “You can be arrested at gun point if you post the Ten Commandments anywhere on your own property or put up a Nativity scene at Christmastime err…a… holiday time, in your front yard, for example. You can be sued for just about anything said or written that would even imply a slight hint of intolerance. They’ll even go as far as misquote or twist the intent of the speaker so as to appear intolerant.

    Read More

  • Prayer Should Not be Allowed in Public Schools

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    School prayer is a very controversial issue in today’s society. This issue has been a problem since America was first founded, in that the country was founded on religious beliefs. The Pilgrims wanted to be able to express their beliefs freely, but in England this freedom was not found, so they decided to come to the Americas, where their beliefs could be expressed freely. As time passed they realized that having this kind of freedom caused problems between different belief systems. Many people started questioning the founding of their nation and what the foundation was made of. This questioning is still going on today and people are torn between letting prayer in to the public school system or keeping it out.

    Read More

More about Prayer At Sporting Events

Open Document