The topic of prayer in school continues to be debated, with groups on both sides of the issue taking strong stands. Here are six groups that support a more free flow of prayer in schools along with statements from some of their websites or leaders.
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American Center for Law and Justice
The ACLJ was founded to protect religious freedoms by evangelist Pat Robertson, who also founded the Christian Coalition of America. ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow has argued in numerous court cases that deal with prayer in school, including successfully arguing in Board of Education v. Mergens on behalf of a student seeking to establish a non-curricular, student-led Christian club. He also was lead counsel in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, arguing in favor of student-led prayer at high school sporting events. The court ruled that the practice violated the First Amendment.
Creation Today
"Allowing prayer in school sets an important standard. It tells students that they are more than just a collection of chemicals and energy that happen to be occupying space and time. Prayer is an action which proclaims that life is more than saving the environment or accumulating wealth. … What a hypocritical message we send to our children when we allow laws to be passed which limit the free expression of speech in public by banning public prayer in classrooms. Federal and Supreme Court judges should be impeached who undermine the freedom upon which this country was founded.”
Alliance Defending Freedom
"Alliance Defending Freedom is here to protect the right of students to freely live out their faith during each stage of their education — from kindergarten through college."
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Focus on the Family
Founder James Dobson supports prayer in school: “The right of parents to select their child's religious orientation must be protected and no teacher or administrator should be allowed to contradict what the child has been taught at home. On the other hand, the vast majority of Americans do profess a belief in God. I would like to see this unnamed God acknowledged in the classroom. The Supreme Court decision banning nonspecific school prayer (or even silent prayer) is an extreme measure, and I regret it. The tiny minority of children from atheistic homes could easily be protected by the school during prayerful moments.”
Family Research Council
FRC was founded in 1983 and became a division of Focus on the Family.
American Family Association
AFA, founded in 1977 as the National Federation for Decency, is led be president Tim Wildmon, who has expressed concerns about efforts to “systematically remove God and faith from education.”
“These schools are not protecting their students from anything — faith-sharing, ‘proselytizing’ or otherwise — but instead, they are stripping students’ Constitutional rights from them, depriving them of the opportunity to receive faith-based guidance at a time in their lives when they need it most.”
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