
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 18, 1994                   TAG: 9412190020
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ERIN BULL AUBURN HIGH & MIDDLE SCHOOL
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STUDENTS' ANSWER IS `NO'

Since the November election, a great deal has been heard about the movement by Speaker of the House-elect Newt Gingrich to reinstate mandatory prayer in school. However, the group that this will most affect - the students - has not been given the opportunity to express their feelings on the subject. As a student at Auburn High School, I feel that this amendment is not necessary and will not remedy the problems of the United States, but instead would violate students' First Amendment rights to freedom of religion.

The founding fathers wanted to create a republic free of religious persecution and thus established a separation between church and state. The Supreme Court has ruled that no school prayer could be neutral enough to meet the Constitutional requirement of separation of church and state. Even if a neutral prayer could be found, it would not retain the same spirit as one that came from a commitment to your own religious beliefs.

Contrary to the comments of many leaders in this movement, when students enter a school building they are not forced to leave their religious beliefs at the door. Silent prayer is unrestricted and clubs exist for students to express their religious beliefs. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets monthly on Club Day as well as after school and offers students an opportunity to express their religious beliefs through Bible study and student-led group prayer. The Young Life organization, led by college students, also has a strong following that attends its weekly meetings.

Although Auburn does not have the ethnic diversity of other schools in Montgomery County and is almost solely Christian, mandatory school prayer could still cause dissension among students. Various Christian denominations were formed because of basic conflicts in the doctrine of the followers. Most students do not favor mandatory prayer in schools and feel if you want to have a religious emphasis in your education there are many private institutions that exist solely for this purpose. Several students remarked that a time set aside for prayer would be a waste because, during moments of silence, only a few students would use this time as intended.

The increasing momentum in the issue of school prayer is an example of what can occur when the vocal minority protests. Some members of this minority blame the declining moral values of Americans on the abolition of mandatory prayer in school. Public schools were not established to force morals onto students but to give them an academic education and the ability to think for themselves. The principle of one religious group forcing its beliefs onto others goes directly against the fundamental values presented in the Constitution of the United States. This fight for a mandatory prayer is an example of the hypocrisy of humans. Although they battle to have mandatory prayer in schools, you can be certain that if the leaders of this movement found their children were being forced to recite a prayer with Buddhist, Muslim or Jewish undertones they would fight even harder to have prayer removed.

Erin Bull is a junior at Auburn High School. She wrote this letter with senior Jessica Bland and junior April Lester.

by CNB