Should prayers be a part of a regular school day? Or should they be banned in schools? Here, we take you through the pros and cons of prayers in school.
There is an ongoing debate about whether prayer should be a part of daily school or not. Some believe, there should be no religious dimension to education, while others argue in favor of prayers in school. Obviously, the idea of having prayer in school has pros and cons. While some think prayers can help maintain discipline and allow kids to follow their religion in school, others think they are unnecessary.
Pros
✦ Making prayers a part of daily schooling is beneficial because it fosters the importance of moral values in children. Prayers help instill qualities such as humility and discipline in the students. This helps the school children realize the essence of good values.
✦ Banning prayer in school could mean depriving the children of their freedom of religion. Banning prayers is a non-religious practice. Prayers give the students an opportunity to observe their religion.
✦ Those favoring the idea of having prayer in school think that a school should not only train its students academically but also cultivate their minds. Prayers can help with this.
✦ Proponents of allowing prayer in school believe that the practice has societal benefits. According to them, the increasing rate of violence and abuse in school can be curbed with the use of prayers, as introducing prayer in daily school may help the children remain away from bad practices.
Cons
✦ In a government-funded school, the religion followed by the government is unknowingly forced upon school children. Thus, prayer in school is a violation of the freedom of religion. Opponents of having prayer in school think that the provision for students to pray during their free time is sufficient to let them observe their religion.
✦ School is an educational institution. Why should religion be a part of it? Prayers can give rise to feelings of religious discrimination and inequality in the children’s minds. Students are exposed to religious differences because of prayers.
✦ The time that can be utilized for something educational, is used up in prayers. Children are free to observe their religion at home, and there is no real need to introduce it in school, through prayers.
If one is to focus on the moral aspect of prayers rather than their religious aspect, having them in school seems to be beneficial. However, if one takes the religious point of view, it does not seem right to have prayers as a part of daily schooling. The debate on the pros and cons of prayer in school can go on. It would be wise to introduce prayers at the right time (considering the students’ age) and given only a limited time of the day with the purpose of teaching students important values and not with the intention of giving them religious teachings.
