Public School Prayer

In this sermon my father spoke out against the institution of prayer in public schools, and the issue he described eventually became part of a landmark Supreme Court ruling prohibiting this practice. Even though he had no objection to the specific nondenominational prayer being suggested by the New York State Board of Regents, he nonetheless felt that any prayer was a violation of the separation of church and state. He had no objection to schools educating students in the moral values inherent in most religions as long as they resisted specific religious indoctrination.

Although religious values as such are not taught, yet through the social experience of the classroom there arises the opportunity to inculcate the values of religion indirectly, and that, perhaps, is the more effective manner

WITHIN RECENT WEEKS, THE PROPOSAL has been made by the New York Board of Regents[1] that the daily sessions of our public schools be opened each morning with a few words of prayer. A standard prayer has been proposed which has been timed as an eight-second prayer and its text is as follows:

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.[2]

Offhand this prayer seems innocuous enough. The writers included members of various denominations and the finished product reflects a sincere and successful attempt to find a common denominator of prayer which would be acceptable to all religious groups and offensive to none. And yet the introduction of such a prayer is not as simple a question as it may seem and is one which deserves a great deal of thought. At its last meeting the New York Board of Rabbis[3] voted with only one dissenting vote, its disapproval of the introduction of such a prayer period in the public schools regardless of the acceptable nature of its content, and it discussed the measures to be taken to make its point of view prevail.
 
Why should religious groups interested in prayer, nevertheless, oppose this prayer? First of all if we are to view the problem objectively we must recognize that there are, after all, many people in the community who are completely nonreligious, and even if the prayer to be recited is strictly nondenominational, yet it is religious in character; if we pray at all, we pray to God. While as Jews and members of the synagogue, we can find no objection to this for ourselves and may think it highly desirable, nevertheless, from the broader standpoint of human rights, it is not just that we compel those who have no religious beliefs or who may be actively opposed to any religious practice to do as we want them to do and compel their children to participate in religious prayer.
 
The famous McCollum case[4] recently in Illinois was an effort to prevent released time education in the public school because it discriminated against a child whose parent was an atheist. We as Jews find ourselves yearly in an awkward position during the Christmas season because of the traditional Christmas observance in the classrooms. This is another aspect of the problem of religion in the schools, which is even more complicated than the one we are speaking of, and which we shall not enter into at the moment, but I mention it merely to point out that bringing of even a nondenominational prayer into the school is the same in principle, as far as nonbelievers are concerned, as compelling Jews to participate in the Christmas observance. In a fully democratic society the rights and feelings of everyone should be considered regardless of religious belief or the lack of it.
 
Furthermore, even though we may not be inclined to fight the battle of the atheist, and even if the particular prayer is not objectionable from a Jewish standpoint, the fear is justified that the effort to bring some religion into the school system may not stop with this neutral prayer, but that we shall set a precedent that will cause school boards to want to carry the religious program still further, and we shall find that we have permitted an entering wedge to other less desirable features of such a program. One of the Board of Regents in fact was quoted in the papers as saying angrily to someone who debated the matter with him, "Wait, this is only the beginning!" It is considered essential, therefore, that no retreat from the basic principle of keeping religion out of the schools be permitted. And out of a determined stand in this matter of the prayer which can be opposed successfully because it has not yet become a deep-rooted practice, and out of the searching analysis of the whole problem which is bound to result, there may develop even an understanding and awareness of other aspects of the problem, also, such as the Christmas problem and perhaps we may ultimately achieve some improvement in that regard as well.
 
But what should concern us even more than these reasons — that it is a violation of the rights of nonbelievers and possibly an entering wedge to more religious activity in the schools — is the question of what after all is the motive for bringing such prayer into the school system.
 
The motivation, I believe, is twofold. First of all, there has been a general concern recently with the question of character training for young people. In thinking of the problems which are posed by our juvenile delinquents, by the increased use of narcotics by young people, by the widely publicized basketball scandals, many of our leaders have been inclined to advance the easy answer that what our young people need to cure these evils is more religion in their educational program, and that if the public schools also had a religious element in their program, the character of our young people would be improved. It is difficult to see, however, how an eight-second prayer, which very soon would turn into a mechanical mumbling rather than a heartfelt prayerful expression would cure any of the character defects of our children and make them more useful and cooperative members of a society than they are without it. There is a challenge to religion in the character problems of our children, but it is not so much a question of giving our children more religion by adding it to their public school program as it is of improving the quality of the work already being done by our religious schools themselves. It is rather surprising to learn that some scientific studies made of problem children have shown that there is no connection between the amount of Sunday school training they have had and the development of their character and good citizenship. A child with supposedly good religious training is just as apt to develop character defects as one without it. We are not in need, therefore, of more religion in the public schools. We need rather to concern ourselves with the improvement of our private religious schools. We need the use of more child psychology in the classroom, and more effective techniques of teaching ethical and moral concepts. We need, in all denominations, to avoid teaching the kind of religion that leaves the child filled with fears and feelings of guilt and inadequacy that help bring the delinquent behavior. We need to avoid the kind of religious teaching that will lead children to belittle the beliefs of others and harbor prejudices, and we need the support of the parents for the religious school program. Parents so often feel that their religious obligations to their child are discharged once they have led him to the religious school door, and then they stand back with a defiant spirit and challenge the religious school to make a man out of him. Religious homes would be a far more effective tool in producing adjusted children than the religion either of the public school or the Sunday school. Religious homes with a spirit of love, with tolerance and respect for all others, with a sense of relationship to the church or synagogue is what our children need, and eight-second public-school prayers are no substitute.  
 
And the second motivating factor in introducing prayer into the public school that has to be considered is that public school officials may be doing this because they fear the accusation that has been hurled at them that the public school is a godless institution. The public school, it is said, is raising a generation that lacks the understanding of what religion has contributed to civilization in general and to our American democracy in particular. In these times it, is further argued, our civilization is threatened by the godless society of communism, and the cure for the world's evils is a return to religion on the part of our nation and all the world. And to keep our children in the religious fold, and to prevent them from becoming prey to anti-religious philosophies, it is important to bring religion into the daily instruction of our children, and not rely merely on the church schools, which have our children, for the most part, only one day a week. By beginning our classes with morning prayer, a crumb is thrown to those who hold these thoughts and criticize the public school for being godless, and it is hoped that they will be silenced.
 
To this we must answer that this crumb will hardly satisfy those who want to mix religion and the school system, and, it has been noted, it will indeed amount to an opening wedge which will encourage them to look for further gains that would become increasingly more obnoxious too many of us. But more important, perhaps, it must be pointed out that our public schools are not as godless as some of its critics would have us believe. Although there may be some human failing involved here and there, by and large the public school system is the strongest force in our country today for the teaching of moral principles which are hardly godless in their character or implication. In the public school, children of all denominations and groups within a community gather in an atmosphere where they must learn to work and play together in mutual respect. The public school offers the best opportunity for developing healthy human relationships, friendly cooperation, appreciation of home, and a desire to be a useful member of society. Although religious values as such are not taught, yet through the social experience of the classroom there arises the opportunity to inculcate the values of religion indirectly, and that, perhaps, is the more effective manner. Such is the nature of our democracy that the public school could ignore every religious festival and yet by its activities in observance of our national holidays, it would indirectly serve a religious purpose. The observance of Washington's Birthday[5], Lincoln's Birthday, the Fourth of July, Armistice Day[6], Thanksgiving Day are certainly not devoid of religious implications. And the American heritage as such, although we call it democratic rather than religious, is certainly not godless in origin or present significance. It was biblical inspiration and a desire to put God's natural law into practice that created American democracy, and the child who learns Washington's first inaugural address in which he says,

…it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe… [7]

or Lincoln's words,

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right…[8]

such a child certainly becomes aware of the meaning and significance of religious ideals in the molding of America. The charge that our public schools are godless comes from sources either ignorant or prejudiced or with ulterior motives.
 
We do need to teach our children and our people to be more religious in these times of crisis, but eight-second prayers are not the answer. We need to give them practical religion and not [handwritten insert illegible]. We need determination on the part of all of us to take the practical ideals of religion more seriously, to weave them into the pattern of our daily living. We need to stop paying mere lip service to religious principles and build them into the pattern of social order and political and international relationships. When our children perceive in their parents the reflection of love and sincerity, when they see in our national leadership the reflection of integrity and truth, when they see in their communities and school, democracy at its finest in action, then we shall not have to fear for their religious appreciation or be concerned about the development of their character.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: June 25, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court declared school-sponsored prayers unconstitutional in the landmark case Engel v. Vitale. Public outrage was immediate and widespread. For millions of Americans, the Court had “kicked God out of the schools,” to use a phrase that entered the culture-war lexicon
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[1] The Regents are responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over The University and the New York State Education Department.

[2] In 1951, the Regents had approved this short, “nondenominational” prayer which they offered to school districts for voluntary classroom use, believing that a connection to the nation's “spiritual heritage” could help instill civic values and fight communism. The Union Free School District No. 9 in New Hyde Park directed the local principal to have this prayer “said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of the school day.” A group of parents, backed by Jewish and Ethical Culture groups, brought a lawsuit against the district in 1960, saying that the prayer was not in line with their and their children's religious beliefs. The law was upheld in the state courts, but after arguments on April 3, 1962, the landmark Supreme Court decision Engel v. Vitale declaring even non-denominational school prayer to be unconstitutional was handed down, with a decision of 6 to 1, and established a major precedent in the limiting of prayer in schools.

[3] The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey. The roots of the New York Board of Rabbis date to 1881 with the establishment of the New York Board of Jewish Ministers by rabbis from differing branches of Judaism, hoping to work together to foster Jewish education and advance Judaism. The New York Board of Rabbis was formally adopted as the organization's name in 1946.

[4] McCollum v. Board of Education, was a landmark 1948 United States Supreme Court case related to the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction. The case was an early test of the separation of church and state with respect to education. The case tested the principle of "released time", where public schools set aside class time for religious instruction. The Court struck down a Champaign, Illinois program as unconstitutional because of the public school system's involvement in the administration, organization and support of religious instruction classes.

[5] Washington's Birthday The federal holiday honoring George Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices As the first federal holiday to honor an American president, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. On January 1, 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Colloquially, it is widely known as "Presidents Day," a term coined in a deliberate attempt to change the holiday into one honoring multiple presidents.

[6] Armistice Day is commemorated every year on November 11 to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. The date was declared a national holiday in many allied nations. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954, honoring all persons who served in the United States Armed Forces.

[7] On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States and delivered his first inaugural address at Federal Hall in New York City, then the first U.S. Capitol and the first site where the 1st United States Congress met. Fully half of his First Inaugural Address gives thanks to Almighty God.

[8] Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, at a time when victory over the secessionists in the American Civil War was within days and slavery was near an end. Lincoln used this address to touch on the question of Divine providence. He wondered what God's will might have been in allowing the war to come, and why it had assumed the terrible dimensions it had taken.