_{*Quick Summary: As a Christian, the author lays out his case for not having prayer in public schools.*}

I see my many of friends, well-meaning Christian folks, still wanting to “bring back prayer” in schools. So much so, that if you don’t agree with that statement, your Christianity is called into question. Well, I sure don’t want it. It appears I am one of the few Christians that is 100% against institutional prayer in schools. 

Why? 

For one, you’re always free to pray. It was never “removed” from schools, they just don’t do it corporately. Individuals can still pray. They don’t have control of your mind. Some have jokingly said they used to pray before hard tests anyway, and I know I did that myself as a child. So prayer isn’t missing from schools, people who want to “bring it back” are more likely referring to prayer led by a school official. 

So who is leading the prayer? A Muslim? An agnostic? A Christian? An atheist? A Satanist? Someone from some religion you’d never want your child exposed to? Saying you want prayer “back” in schools is usually assuming the same Christian people are saying the same Christian prayers we all prayed 30-40 years ago. The devil and the government have handled all that already. The world is a vastly different place. Institute prayer in schools today and it would be automatic that they be all inclusive. Every religion would have to be represented. That would mean a terribly generic and vague prayer, or a diverse group of prayer leaders from various religions. No, I don’t want that. I want to know what kind of prayer those children are praying, and who is leading it, don’t you? If you can’t be sure of that, the whole thing is for naught. In fact, it is much worse than not doing it at all. Especially given the fact you can’t just pull your child out of school and transfer to a new one every time you don’t like the prayer leader. 

Forget institutional prayer in schools. You don’t have it in workplaces. What happens when your child graduates and goes into the real world? Do they stop praying because that only happens in church and school? You don’t have corporate prayer anywhere else publicly, other than some sporting events, and if they don’t specifically mention the name Jesus Christ (my super big pet peeve), then who have you even prayed to? Nope, count me out. That’s what parents and church are for – to teach you to pray, and activate/motivate young minds to the service of Christ. Let the schools be schools, we can handle our own religion. Let’s focus our attention to prayer in the home instead.