diversity. (http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~ckramer/research2.html, I Want My Freedom!) School prayer advocates know this; but the real purpose of the prayer-in-school movement is to either coerce everyone into joining in prayer or having an official government endorsement of a religion. That is clearly wrong, a violation of the separation of government and religion. Newt Gingrich had a proposal which states: Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other public institutions. No person shall be required by the United States or by any State to participate in prayer. Neither the United States nor any State shall compose the words of any prayer to be said in public schools. (1996, The American Civil Liberties Union, Constitutional Amendment on School Prayer or Moment of Silence, http://www.aclu.org/library/aaprayer.html)In spite of the caveats in the last two sentences, if adopted the amendment would allow public officials, including teachers, to dictate how, when and where school children and others should pray, thus undermining one of the core values of the First Amendment: the complete freedom of religious conscience through the nonestablishment of religion. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly said that officially organized prayer is coercive in a school environment, even when designated as "voluntary." The mindless notion that serious social problems can be solved by prayer in schoolrooms, instead of by thoughtful analysis and sufficient resources, appeals to no one but the radical religious right. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. With these words, the framers of the Constitution established one of the central principles of American government -- that religious liberty can flourish only when the state leaves religion alone. (1996, The American Civil Liberties Union, Constitutional Amendment ...
