Scoot: Did the removal of prayer in public schools lead to America’s moral decline?

The idea of putting prayers back in schools is a simplistic and unrealistic idea proposed mostly by the political right - but this idea is nothing new. Since I began doing talk radio in the early 90s - I have heard the general criticism that America began a drastic downfall the moment the U.S. Supreme Court banned prayers in schools and the pleading to return prayers to schools has been ramping up.

During these times of great political divide fueled by fear mongering, some Americans believe that the removal of prayer, or God, from public schools is the reason for current-day lawlessness in America. There is also the growing fear that American democracy is on the threshold of decay and liberal ideology is responsible for removing God from public school classrooms.

Putting prayers back in schools is a popular solution because it is simple and it vicariously blames liberals for the health of society.

Let’s begin with the notion that it was the Supreme Court’s decision to remove prayers from schools is the reason for all that’s wrong with America.

In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled 6 - 1 in the case of Engel v. Vitale that public school teachers or administrators - as employees of the federal government - could not recite prayers. That ruling also implied that if Christian prayers were allowed to be recited - then Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and all aspects of Christianity would also be required inclusion in prayers in schools.

For the record - the Supreme Court never banned prayers in public schools - the Court’s ruling only stated that teachers and employees of schools could not lead a prayer. To this day students can pray while at school.

While it may have become a convenient political solution to America’s problems, the removal of school-led prayers was not a solo act that launched America on a downward spiral. There were countless influences and changes happening in America prior to the Supreme Court decision to ban prayers in schools.

In the mid-to-late 50s - rock n roll in America became the soundtrack for a young generation’s break from traditional American culture. Rock n roll was deemed primitive and sexual. The establishment feared the influence of Elvis and Black artists, like Little Richard and Chuck Berry, who brought White and Black young Americans together in a choreographed expression of sexuality.

The sight of White and Black teenage girls responding to rock n roll’s sensual beat was shocking to the establishment. So concerned about the sensual influence of Elvis Presley - CBS ordered Elvis to be shown on camera only from the waist up during his appearances of The Ed Sullivan Show.

By the late-50s - the popularity of rock n roll was seen as a threat to the stability of society and the sexual suggestive nature of the music was viewed as a challenge to God. There was moral panic in America.

By the late-50s - censorship was easing and the content of music, movies, and TV shows changed. Premarital sex and extramarital affairs became more popular in the young generation.

Artificial birth control - the pill - was condemned as a catalyst for a new and free attitude about sex. The science behind the pill was discovered in 1953 and the pill was approved for use among the masses by 1960. The establishment fought the moral battle to make the pill illegal and 5 years later the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut that based on the right to privacy any banning of the pill was unconstitutional.

The introduction of the birth control pill in 1960 created a societal earthquake with young people feeling the new freedom to have casual sex and the establishment lamented about a new moral vacuum in America.

In addition to the changes inspired by rock n roll and the pill, 1960 was the year of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which closed the gaps of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Great changes were occurring in American society by 1960 - plus - the instability and paranoia caused by the Cold War between the United States and Russia and the 1960 presidential campaign between Richard Nixon - the established Republican and the younger Democrat John Kennedy - were more indications that a major shift was occurring in America.

With all of the dramatic changes happening in America in the 50s leading to 1960 - it is impossible to blame - what many believe as the downfall of America - on the single act of the Supreme Court decision to ban public school-led prayers.

The political rhetoric behind blaming the removal of Christian prayers in public schools for America’s biggest problems today is an attempt to grasp at a simple, and politically-charged solution to a complex problem.

Over the decades, too many Americans have been essentially brainwashed into believing the simple mantra: “America’s problems started when they took God out of schools.”

But “putting God back in public schools” is filled with problems and deep controversy. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Stone v. Graham that any requirement to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms violated the 1st Amendment's establishment clause, which established the concept of separation of church and state.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a bill into law that demands that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom as a step toward solving America’s decline. Groups are already announcing plans to sue the state and Landry says he is looking forward to the suits. Landry and others are confident the new Trump-inspired conservative Supreme Court will rule differently from the court in 1980 and approve the law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Time will tell, but Landry may be playing to a national audience with this brazen issue with little regard for the amount of taxpayers’ dollars that will be spent defending a law that has already been declared unconstitutional.

The problem with posting the Ten Commandments or allowing school-led prayers in public schools is that it opens the door for any and all religions to claim the right to post teachings and symbols from their religion in public classrooms.

This is not a new problem. In the 19th century, Protestants and Catholics battled over Bible readings in the classrooms. When prayer was allowed in schools, even Christians could not agree on what prayers should be read.

Some Catholics objected to readings from the King James version of the Bible and in 1844, violence between Protestants and Catholics broke out in Philadelphia where people died and some Catholic churches were burned. Violence also broke out in Boston and other parts of New England in the 1850s.

History demonstrates that allowing prayers or the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms may cause more problems then solve problems. I support prayer and the Ten Commandments, but I believe that The Constitution should be respected.

And when did the teaching of morality and religion fall on the schools? Aren’t those things that should be taught at home? Why would you trust a teacher, whose job it is to teach math, English, science, etc., to teach your child about morality and God?