I think it would be ok for individuals would be able to do a prayer for themselves only. I do understand that non-Christian students should not be forced to pray since it would be a violation off the First Amendment. But I do feel that if a Christian student wants to pray, they can do so by themselves. I also feel that this "prayer" regulation is taken a bit too far. However more, there is the battle of also removing "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance.

I don't think it would be a good idea to take out "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance. That would be just plan wrong. Alot of people have known worded like that sence they were kids.

I've heard some about this story. It all seems stupid to me. Of course my best friend (And Anti-Christian) is foaming at the teeth with delight. (Gives him something to bash Christianity with in his mind.)

Whatever makes him happy I guess.

But I would expect those of us following the lord would have more important issues to keep us busy.

"Outrage"?
really?
Maybe you just caught me at a bad moment or something, and I apologize if this comment is inappropriate or mean or whatever, but this post does not sit well with me.

First of all, I don't know if the title is revelife edit, but you do reference it later...you call the ACLU the Devil. The ACLU is comprised of people; people that God created and Loves just like you and me. Directly comparing fellow human beings to Satan makes me very uncomfortable. Jesus says that, "fool," is an insult worthy of Hell; how much more, "Demonic"?

Secondly, didn't Jesus say a few things about expecting--and taking joy in--persecution and praying for persecutors? Come to think of it, almost every book in the new testament has at least minor themes along those lines. Playing the victim card and looking for sympathy isn't going to get you very far in general, but especially in Christianity, which kind of started through victimization and has historically thrived under pressure. So how do you think that this sort of thing, which God told us to expect, is an outrage? Basically the only time I hear that word is in bad, political propaganda, fear-mongering, or from mindless idealists.  This entire post drips of an "us-vs-them" political Christianity, and maybe it's just me, but that's a brand of Christianity I'm not buying and want nothing to do with. I could just be jaded, or have missed the boat, but that mentality doesn't strike me as terribly Christ like.

Like I said, if I misread something or was too harsh, patronizing, or condescending, please call me out on it. Maybe I don't know what I'm trying to say and thus didn't articulate it well, but the tone of this post scares me.

As an agnostic athiest, I have no problem with people having individual prayers, but a public prayer in a public school event, I would object during it, loudly.  I am glad the order forbids a non-employee from offering a public prayer at a public school.  Afterall, it would still be the promotion of a religion at a public institution, blatently against the first ammendment.  Her "not knowing the consequences" is not an excuse to get out of the punishment.  In my view, they entered a legal binding contract without making sure they understood it, and then broke that contract, the only fault lies with those who broke their agreement, the three being charged.  Without knowing the details, the get together after dinner is questionable, depending upon if it was a required attendance/school event or just a friendly get together.  The ACLU operates at the same level as the extreme religious right, no better, no worse.  The constitution protects people's right to practice their religion, and also protects the right not to practice a religion, I don't see how this violated those protections.

@Jacki815@xanga - are you aware those two words "under God" weren't added until 1954, the pledge was originally written in 1892.

@sheepthatsblack@xanga - In answer to your question about the title it was what the author of the piece decided to title it...I think it's rather appropriate. Also to reiterate I DIDN'T WRITE THE POST I copied it from Foxnews. Look at the source I'm giving you. I do agree with calling the ACLU  the devil because this battle over who rights are more important are never going to end. We are all born with rights. If i remember the article correctly it was a school with a large Christian community, if not a Christian school. Although I went to public school I do remember praying for those that were lost on September 11th. No one made a big deal about it. Every single day we are loosing are faith because we are swiftly becoming the minority instead of the majority. No one ever said that you had to fold your hand and pray at a dinner your were attending if you were Musiim or Jewish. I've had dinner with Christians who faitfully pray at every meal what the ACLU is doing will in short oder tell those friends that they're not allowed to pray in a public space by themselves because not everyone in the cafeteria is Christian.

Although I also would like to point out that I'm just trying to point out the meaning behind the piece. I honestly don't mean to turn this into a heated debate. The article just struck me as important considering the way that things are going in our nation.

who cares?  Those who want to pray will, and those who don't, won't - regardless of whether a public prayer is offered.  Why do we fight so much about this?

I feel that teachers and student, excluding during class times, should be allowed to express their religious views. Teachers can't get their students to sit down and be quiet half the time. They don't make millions during candy bar fundraisers. So are they going to be able to influence children to believe a certain way. Part of this is to protect children from teachers' prejudices, but if the students are allowed to express their opinion and the teachers aren't the teachers will still have passive aggressive ways to harm children for differing views. The mean ones, anyway. And yes, they do exist- mean teachers happen sometimes. But if they aren't allowed to express themselves, they may become more likely to act out in subltler ways. They may not realize this causes them to reach out more to some children than others. Not being allowed to talk about it teaches the children a very strict division vs. allowin open discussion and prayer. Prayer heightens brain activity and relieves stress. Children are having trouble learning due to stress. There is another reason to allow students and teachers to pray together. Or atleast to bow heads together. If teachers and students are will to get up early or leave late for any activity which does not violate a person physically, well, its a place for the exchange of ideas- just not fluids. They act like teachers prayin' is on par with rape.

first, i don't have pity for people who knowingly break the law.  it's not intelligent to have your fingers crossed that you'll win some appeal and not get punished.  regardless of whether you agree with it, own up to whatever punishment comes your way. 

second, i don't support school-led prayer.  as a child, i looked up to my teachers and would never have felt comfortable going against them out of fear of failure.  if prayer exists in schools, it should be selective and led by peers.  no student should ever be made to feel like they're going to flunk 4th grade if they aren't a member of a particular religion.  if you want to pray, pray silently to yourself.  last i checked, the Christian god doesn't show preference to those who pray out loud and in large groups.

There are several points in this article to be addressed.

Concerning the after school lunch; my understanding is that this was not a school function, and thus should be a non-issue.

Concerning the awards ceremony; they broke the rules, their problem.

Concerning faculty participation in prayer: By participating, the staff is showing religious preference, thus violating separation of church and state. They are free to worship as they please outside school events, but during school events, they are representatives of the school, and thus must continue to abide by school policy.

Lastly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, student lead prayer is still allowed. There is nothing stopping student lead prayer. The instant student lead prayer becomes outlawed, then we have a problem (and I say this as an atheist).

@Dargon@xanga -   Dead on.