Arkenstone: School Prayer

This morning, while I was reading the comics online, I ran into one of those fake surveys. This one asked, "Prayer should be forbidden in schools. Agree? Disagree?" Of course, the survey, like the question itself, was a fake. It was just a come-on for a high-interest credit card application.

Has there ever been a serious proposal that some sort of atheist police would prosecute a kid for quietly thanking God for his lunch? Or praying for a better test grade? Or even praying that the teacher would forget about detention?

I grew up in Maryland, years and years ago. When I was in elementary school, we began each day with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Maryland state song (a creepy, bloodthirsty ditty that laments the fall of Baltimore to anti-slavery forces) and the Lord's Prayer. Somehow by the end of the ceremony, we'd pledged our loyalty to the country, the Old South, and God—in that order.

I remember it especially well because the official Maryland version of the prayer was from the King James Version, and we were supposed to say, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." I didn't know what that meant, but I did know that my Presbyterian church upbringing (based on the Revised Standard Version) had me saying, "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." I didn't know what that meant either, but I was quite careful to say MY words while they were saying THEIR words. It was a matter of tribal pride for me.

Some will point out that since school prayer was banned we've had an increase in drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and illiteracy. We have also had an increase in computer use, PowerPoint slides, and free school lunches.

This is the point where I have to ask what prayer actually does.

When a Jewish girl mouths a Christian prayer because the teacher told her to, does God actually begin interacting with her? When an atheist says the words just to avoid trouble, does he become more moral? Or is it just words? More than once, the child who was picked to lead the day's ceremony faced the flag, laid a hand on his/her left pectoral muscle, and began, "Our Father..." Sleepy kid's brain found the wrong meaningless recitation for the moment.

We lost school prayer in Maryland because Madalyn Murray started a lawsuit, which ended up in the Supreme Court, against the Baltimore City Public Schools. No, the Court didn't forbid praying; it forbid the schools requiring prayer. I'd call that an advance for true Christianity. No more kids simply mouthing the words to get the morning started. No more unbelieving teachers required by their contract to lead prayers.

When you give evidence in court and you swear "so help me God," do you actually expect God's assistance? Does anyone else? When you handle our money with "In God We Trust" inscribed, does your faith get a boost? Does anyone's? I would suggest that such casual use of God's name actually cheapens the faith—in the same way that saying "God damn that hammer" cheapens the concept of eternal judgment.

The upside? Nowadays, when a kid prays at the start of a school day, he knows who he's talking to.