Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 29, 1992 TAG: 9201290304
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: EARL BOWYER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BEWARE PRESCRIBING RELIGION IN SCHOOLS
RECENT letters have said the First Amendment has been "trashed" because of the banning of prayer in schools. Other letters were headlined "Fundamentalists not enemies of people's rights" and "Christians have duty to share their faith."I've told my children for years: Nobody can stop them from praying in schools or elsewhere. No one can stop me from praying.
Even if they put a gun to my head, I will still pray. They may not be aware that I am praying, but that's the way the great teacher Jesus tells us to pray - in private. I can pray in the privacy of my mind without going into a room and closing the door, if none is available.
These people who want prayer in school sponsored by the state no doubt want "their" way of praying taken from "their" religion.
I have read that there are more Muslims in the United States today than Presbyterians. We live in a pluralistic society. So before we beat our drums for state-sponsored prayer, we should ask: How will we like it if our children adopt the ways of the people who wear a certain headdress, as some religions do?
How will we feel if our children fall and kiss the ground as some do? What if the teacher wants to inject a bit of religion that teaches Christmas is of pagan origin and therefore wrong?
I have heard of some children from a different religion being sent to a Catholic school because the parents thought the quality of education better, and the parents becoming upset when the children began a ritual practiced by Catholics.
As for those who want to share their faith with others (or force it upon them), please accept that some, myself included, put great importance on their individual privacy. When people are shown in deed, not talk, they will flock to a religion, just as did the diehards who at first wouldn't own an automobile or have electricity in their homes.
I belong to three organizations that promote separation of church and state. Some members are atheists or agnostics, and some are ministers. But they all agree that for the most part, the establishment clause of the First Amendment, the guideline for separation of church and state, has kept peace in this country. If it is ever abandoned, then I predict bloodshed in the United States within the next 10 to 20 years. I hope I am wrong.
Before you write me off as crazy, notice in this newspaper in the coming weeks how many are killed or wounded by rival religious groups throughout the Earth, such as the Christians, Hindus, Sikhs. It just may happen here.
I agree with Harry Truman: "When they start praying real loud, you had better go lock your smokehouse."
Earl Bowyer is a retired truck driver who lives in Bedford County.