This lacks context.
First of all, Islam requires prayer at specific times of the day, which is difficult when an observant Muslim student is in school all day. Some schools make accommodations for students by providing a prayer room, but the room is available for use by ALL students who want to pray, not just Muslims. If they chose to pray while in school, it gives them a quiet place to do it. To do otherwise - such as designating the room for use by Muslims only - would violate the First Amendment.
Contrary to what you posted suggests, prayer has not been removed from schools. In 1963, SCOTUS ruled in Engel v Vitale that state-sponsored prayer - such as a prayer composed by the school administration - is unconstitutional (that pesky part in the First Amendment about the separation of church and state); VOLUNTARY prayer is not unconstitutional, however. Under US law, students are allowed to pray in public school if they want to as long as the prayer is voluntary, silent, and non-disruptive - they just can't be told that they HAVE to pray. It's not a socialist plot - this has been the law for over 50 years.
As for flags, US law says that a flag must be flown outside the school - there was no law or requirement to put them in each classroom, nor was there a law to remove them; it's up to the individual school districts to decide if they want to do so or not. Some school districts see flags in the classroom as an unnecessary expense when they have other things they need like classroom supplies. Again, not a socialist plot - it's a non-issue.
Your friend's screed starts off with bad information and devolves from there. This is not and has never been a Christian nation - if it was, the First Amendment wouldn't have guaranteed the right to worship as we choose (or, by extension, not worship at all). To insist that we "restore" Christian beliefs and values at the expense of other faiths doesn't pass Constitutional muster.
Just as another more personal note, I know you're Catholic and you may know that I was raised Catholic but am now Lutheran. It might surprise you to learn that here in Texas, many evangelicals don't consider either one of us to be a Christian. I've actually argued this point with friends who are otherwise well-meaning, and they insist that until I accept and embrace THEIR version of Christianity, I will never be a Christian. And they look at you and smile while they say it as if they pity you. I don't doubt that the same situation exists in other Bible-belt states. This what we've come down to... |
