School Prayer..

I've been casually watching a little drama unfold at my alma mater over the issue of school prayer.  Apparently, they still conducted Christian prayers over the loudspeaker (despite the fact that it is illegal - but they had segregated proms until about seven-eight years ago, so local residents tend to disregard some laws until they're challenged) until just recently when a parent approached the school board and demanded that they stop.  That got me thinking:  If my child attended public school, how would I feel about faculty led prayer?? And I've decided that I would be totally against it. 

The main reason Chris and I decided to homeschool Noah was so he would have a Christ-centered education.  There are, of course, many other reasons (consistency concerns as we move, quality of education, independent thinking/learning, the fact that Noah is a bear if he's woken up before he's ready), but ensuring that Noah places God at the center of his education and understands and recognizes that ALL knowledge is related and governed by HIM was at the top of our list for important reasons to homeschool.  A public school cannot do that.  Even if prayer was conducted in schools (by faculty) there would be the requirement that all faiths/religions/doctrines be presented as true, right, and/or valid - something I find considerably more troublesome than only allowing children to have quiet moment to themselves for prayer.  I certainly recognize that other religions have just as much right to practice their faith as I do, but I would not want my child exposed to the "all religions are valid" argument as it would have to be presented in public school. As Koukl mentions in his commentary, are we prepared for prayers such as this:  "May God, Buddha, Krishna, Cosmic Consciousness, and all that is, bless you"???  If I hadn't already planned to homeschool Noah through high school, that would be the moment that that I pulled my child out of the public education system.  I firmly believe we can teach our children about the value of diversity and religious tolerance without teaching religious pluralism...which is what we risk happening if we were to reinstitute prayer in public school.    

I agree with the author of the article below that I wish we still were able to conduct a "God of the Bible" prayer in our schools at the start of every day as we did for almost 200 years before the separation of church and state became an issue within our public schools.  But we can't.  For those of us that are Christians, I think we would definitely do more harm than good if we had to make adjustments in public school to accommodate other faiths/practices as well as our own.  At 6, 8, and 10 years of old (and even older), children are extremely impressionable and I would not wish to relinquish my rights as a parent to a virtual stranger in determining what constitutes (at its very best) good Christian teachings or (at its worst) broad and inclusive religious "tolerance."  Before our children are exposed to religious pluralism (or what another writer calls "subjective reality"), we need to equip them with the desire to seek out the inspired word of God and know and understand the difference between it and other religions.  And I firmly believe that is the parents' responsibility...not the state.   

Stand to Reason:  School Prayer:  The Wrong Hill to Die On