When Prayer Was Taken Out of School

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In 1962, the Court examined a simple twenty-two word prayer, first used to negate prayer in schools:

“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.”

This simple prayer, said by children, acknowledged God. Americans’ indifference allowed the removal of prayer from our schools. This is but one of the steps toward complete destruction of America’s original Judeo-Christian educational system. This value-free environment has resulted in chaos.

David Barton graphically illustrates how America has plummeted from righteous living, prosperity, and success in the last quarter-century. Consider the following charts compiled from his publication, America: America: To Pray or Not to Pray

Since the 1962 removal of prayer:

SAT Total Scores

CASES OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

Includes: Gonorrhea, Syphillis, Chancroid,
Granuloma Inguinale, Lymphgranuloma Venereum, and AIDS

PREGNANCIES TO UNWED GIRLS

Under 15 Years of Age

PREGNANCIES TO UNWED GIRLS

Under 15-19 Years of Age

BIRTH RATES FOR UNWED GIRLS

Under 15-19 Years of Age

PRE-MARITAL SEX

Percentage of U.S. Teenage Girls
Who Have Had Pre-Marital Intercourse

SINGLE PARENT HOUSEHOLDS

Female Head, No Spouse Present

UNMARRIED COUPLES LIVING TOGETHER
YEAR

Prior to 1977, unmarried couples living together was such a small group that data on this group was collected only in the 10-year census reports.* Note: Unmarried couples represented only 1 in 85 of all couples in 1970,
compared with 1 in 25 in 1983. Basic data from Statistical Abstracts of the United States

DIVORCE RATES

“The U.S. is at the top of the world’s divorce charts on marital breakups.”
U.S. News and World Report, June 8, 1987, pp. 68-69
“The number of divorces tripled each year between 1962 and 1981.”
Time, July 13, 1987, p. 21

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA

VIOLENT CRIME: Number of Offenses

Homeschool Prayer

Father, give me wisdom and grace to be a teacher of my children. Fill me with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding; fill my heart with Your love and Your Word. Help me daily teach by example that Your Word should be priority over the things of this world.

Give me strength according to Your glorious might so that I may have great endurance and patience. Help me be diligent and wise to teach these children Your Word as You command. Help me persevere in Your ways, Your love and presence. Make my life an example, an influence as I educate these children for you. Keep my eyes on You, on Your vision, Your plans, and Your purposes for our family.

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Comment by Robyn :

Hi Robin,
Thanks for adding me on your Sunday Meme, I agree with the prayer, first it starts in the home. When they took prayer out of school the same year President Kennedy was assasinated…..thanks for your wonderful comments on my blog. Have a great week Robin!!!

Robyn’s last blog post..Our newest angel is here….

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Comment by Lara :

WOW! It is AMAZING how when we line up with God’s Word and HE is first ALL things are better…What ashame that we let this happen as a nation.

Lara’s last blog post..Lily of the Valley – Free Blogger Template

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Christina Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Amen!!!! I am 27 years old and I believe pray should still be in school. They hardly said the pledge of allegience anymore. Things went downhill fast when they took pray out of school. I am appalled.

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Anonymous Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:55 am
its prayer not pray…

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Comment by Jewelz :

Hi, this is Jewelz, an active blogger at http://imciamstrong.blogspot.com. I was wondering if you could post our link on your site to support the youth in making the right decisions.

Jewelz’s last blog post..the eleven “shoulds” to effective studying

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Comment by Jewelz :

Thank you.

Jewelz’s last blog post..the eleven “shoulds” to effective studying

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Pastor Jeff Deyarmon Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:27 am
Are these stats just on us thought they might be but was not sure keep up the good work it is so sad to see how lost the world really is. So lost they do not even know they are Lost, lets all pray for them.

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Comment by Sire :

Just a question, do you notes still say, ?In God We Trust”?

Sire’s last blog post..The Whispering Wall Holds No Secrets

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Comment by Lydia :

I go to a Christian school and I am doing a paper on when prayer was taken out of school, why it was taken out of school, and the effect it has had on America. If anybody has any information for me please e-mail me at: lydia_mccarty@hotmail.com Thank you

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angela Reply:
April 29th, 2010 at 10:47 am
my friend and i are doing a smilar project in public school. If u find any thing good would u please email me. angelangelpower@yahoo.com? I’ve found alot but its hard to organize it all. Thank you and good luck!

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Harvey Reply:
June 27th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Lydia
Simpley type in( When was Prayer taken out of School)there you will find all the information you should need.

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Comment by tatum :

this is just absurd. prayer has nothing to do with any of those things. with prayer still in the school sat score would still be sinking. why? because there have been things like myspace,playstation and better things to do then reading books & worrying about school. which god knows the majority of kids don’t do. secondly std rates are climbing because america is teaching abstience only programs that don’t actually teach ANYONE how to protect themselves. AND prayer in school has NOTHING to do with the rest of those things. Those things are outside of school. And if prayer is so important why isn’t it done in the home? Which should then have prevented these things from happening anyway.

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Anonymous Reply:
May 20th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
amen

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Carol Flett Reply:
July 18th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Your right. Stopping a mere formal prayer, in itself, probably would not have created such a distinct down slide, but the act of stopping prayer was only a token of the total change in attitude of school and government away from the God who created us. The graphs (and there are more) speak for themselves. Something happened, not gradually, as your idea suggests but very dramatically, giving serious analysts cause to stop and question what took place in 1965 that happened at no other time. Could all of this be mere circumferential evidence? I think not!

Carol Flett
http://www.godleadsusalong.com

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Anonymous Reply:
August 22nd, 2010 at 8:44 pm
You sound like you need some help with understanding Gods purpose for order.If children are taught to follow Gods way of abstance, then there would be nothing they need to protect themself from. Also, is children are what the bible says, then they would know that they can ask God for understanding and he would open up knowledge to them they need to study and pass SAT scores. If you have not tried living the way God’s word (the bible) instructs us to live, I suggest you do and watch your life change for the better.

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Comment by Prayer Podcasts :

The only thing I can say is: Wow!

I went to a Catholic grade school and High School, and I think that helped me a lot growing up. But when I went to college, I did find myself slipping a little.

Very interesting stats.

Prayer Podcasts’s last blog post..Joyce Meyer Podcasts

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Comment by miriam :

I very much enjoyed reading this. I have used that simple prayer in one of my governments essays before. My teacher loved it! She put my essay in the news paper =)

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Comment by beth :

this separation of church and state is bringing the ruin and fall of america if you think america is a super power because you are very smart YOU ARE WRONG once america turns her back on GOD America is through and will begin to collapse JUST REMEMBER NEBUCHADNEZZAR this is what is happening to America if America was a superpower it was for the blessings of God not because they are super smart. if God has not judged yet America its because of its support of Israel and for all the Christians that are still in America. You can see all the consecuences of turning our back on God Crime abortion (SAVE THE WHALES BUT KILL THE BABIES) gangs children giving birth to children everything has increased but people are SO BLIND they dont want to see it they want God out of America YOULL HAVE IT Just give thanks to those liberals and to ACLU and Freedom from religion foundation for the consecuences

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Comment by Ken Cook :

I stumbled upon this blog, and thought that this is some good stuff. However, I would really like to know, from whom you got the statistics on the first batch of Graphs. Also, do you know if any of these are peer-reviewed findings?

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Comment by Linda :

Knew everything had really gotten bad since they took prayer out of school. But did not know it had gotten so bad so quickly. God bless you for having this. Wish everyone in the world would read it and realize just what has happened, is still happening and what is going to happen if they stop evil now. It was just one way evil eliminates it’ opposition. And we continue to let it.

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Comment by Brandie :

Wow…Great post!

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Comment by SciTeacher :

There is an important sentence that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, should memorize and recite when reading posts such as this. It goes–

Correlation does not imply causation.

If ice cream sales and shark bites go up at the same time, does that mean one caused the other?

Promiscuity, STDs, crime, and war were around loooong before public schools were invented.

How absurd to think that children not uttering a one sentence prayer in unison after uttering the pledge during first hour causes teenage pregnancy. Didn’t you know that babies come from having sex?

Oh, never mind.

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kevin Reply:
August 28th, 2010 at 1:00 am
your comment reflects misery and doubt of what you teach. its no wonder why. the books you teach from now will all be revised in a year or two and contradict what is being tought now. religion, faith, morality,and tradition are all substances that bring balance to the every day struggle to understand the meaning of life and why we are here. i will not force you to believe please do not force me to not believe. UNDERSTANDING IS THE KEY RESPECT IS PARAMOUNT!

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Comment by Kimberly :

Seriously? Because we are not praying this simple prayer the world has gone completely off? Are we that simple minded a country? Could my Japanese friend be right Americans are slowly educated people and are not as advanced as the rest of the people in the world?

Well I can honestly say if you believe that article I have a shoe I need to sell because I cannot find its match…

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Comment by preparingthe way for theLord :

Biblical prophecy fulfilled! The bible says in Romans1:18-32 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

People are working so hard to find justification for their sins, that they will go to any length to argue against the truth.
For we all know the word says in John 3:18-20 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Those who live in sin hate the light because it exposes them for who they really are.
This shows everyone has conviction about good and evil. That reveals the fact that God has given every man a soul. That is just one more proof of the truth that God is who he says he is. You can run but you can’t hide. All will be judged and though you may fool everyone on earth you can’t fool God. No matter how hard the world tries to take God out of everything, God still remains yesterday, today, and forever. By the way, if it was not for God’s grace not one of us would be breathing right now. Prayer in public schools is only one aspect of America’s demise. How about rallying to take the ten commandments away, removing in God we trust, and supporting all of the things God stands against. Satan’s time is short so he is working overtime but let me assure you the book has been written, the victory is won, and no amount of evil can stop it. By the way, prophecy is being fulfilled. Look at Israel, look at the issues our world is facing.(Matthew 24) By the way, education and knowledge mean nothing what can our finite minds truly comprehend. We are but dust, that God has breathed life into. Ignorance will destroy many and those who think they really know, truly know nothing. We don’t even have control of our next breath, why do so many believe they are mighty. Lean to an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent source, cast your cares upon him. Matthew 6:27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
What do you truly have control of on your own? You don’t even know what is going to happen in five minutes with complete certainty but God knows from the beginning to the end.

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Comment by Dawana McAfee :

Hi, I stumbled on your blog looking for the court case of when prayer was taken out of school and when the gov decided to take the rights of the parents to spank their children, that GOD gave them to train up. Yes taking prayer out of school did have an adverse affect on this nation. When I started school there was a fear that if I did something that I wasn’t suppose to, that God would see and punish me. But as I got older and prayer was ommited, the fear slowly replaced with disobedience and you can’t touch me syndrome. It was a domino effect.No prayer,no spanking,no discipline,and no consequences. Replaced with child abuse,sexual immorality and God knows what else. We as Christians and lovers of our Lord JESUS CHRIST need to take back what the devil is trying to steal. Our children. They can’t lock us all up. If you find this case please e-mail me the info. Thanks

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Comment by William Rheingold :

These “statistics” prove nothing. Any accurate population growth curve would be exponential, reflecting the increased birth and survival rates, and the “rule of 70″ used by population models that Barton seems to lack any acquaintance with.

I am an atheist. I am also a high school student. I do not pray. I do not have sex. I do not smoke, I do not drink, I do not use drugs. My SAT scores are significantly higher than thew national average, an average, I may add, that includes students who pray several times a day. Does this mean I am better than them? Of course not. However, I do not have God (of any sort) in my life, and I do not feel the lack. Many of my friends are religious. I have helped one of my friends reconcile his homosexuality and Christianity, and watched another renounce God along with the parents who beat it into her.

Prayer has nothing to do with anything.

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc

Correlation does not imply causality.

Will

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Comment by Brad :

A couple of thoughts – first, if you plotted the growth of faszt foods (e.g. McDonalds, Burger King) you will find a very high correlation – yet I don’t want to argue that SAT scores are falling due to Big Macs. Second, if you plot time spent watching TV, you will also find a very high correlation (and when the internet time is included, even better correlation). Now I might want to argue that TV is causal – in fact it is far more likely that TV watching is related to a drop in SAT scores and an increase in STD’s (and so on from the various statistics cited). A part of the problem is that with the increase in TV watching we have a decrease in interaction between parents and children – and I suspect that is more causal than TV by itself.

Whether or not prayer is said in a classroom will have very little impact on the children in that classroom if their parents are not teaching their children a set of values that in turn guide their life. I’ve barely touched on this topic here, the causes for the drop in achievement scores and the increase in STD’s and so on has many causes, and many more things that are highly correlated. To try to reduce the problem to something relatively small is to deny the responsibility that we all have in the way we raise our kids. How many of you put your kid in front of the TV, with a good movie or not – it doesn’t matter – instead of spending time with your child. If we could get an accurate measure of time spent with children, I suspect that we would see the highest correlation, and it is fairly easy to demonstrate that this is causal as related to the dire statistics presented here.

Some one above stated that the correlation was just too high to be coincidence, but if you look at all the things that happened in 1962, why is this judicial decision more likely to cause problems than some of the things I have mentioned = as to correlation not being a demonstration of causality – during the years after WWII, there is an extremely high negative correlation ( an increase in one means a decrease in the other) between the number of Pygmies in Africa and the number of oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, by the logic of high coincidence, we would have to argue that setting up oil wells (poking holes in the sea bed?) in the Gulf of Mexico is killing the Pygmies in Africa – I rather doubt it.

Don’t blame prayer in school for a far more pressing problem – in our chase of the “good life” we are not raising our children, and no matter what is on the TV, it is no substitute for parent child interaction.

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Comment by Trio :

Um the graphs being used are extremely misleading being that they don’t start at 0. It is considered statistical lying only because if they started at 0 the change would not be that much almost insignificant. If p-values were shown then one could make a more educated decisions as to whether or not there was a difference. Also most the rises in the graphs can be explained psychological due to increase of population. The tests were not conducted in an accurate manner so I currently must fail to reject the null until better data can be obtained.

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Comment by Mark :

I find your argument to be absurd and just plain wrong. Anyone can pray in school anytime that they want, just as they can not pray if they so choose.

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Comment by Michael Phillips :

What is missed here is the obvious fact that Prayer in School, as such, is just the beginning. At that time in history, many things were being moved from a religious viewpoint to a secular viewpoint. This departure from the moral teachings of the religious community, and acceptance of the secular viewpoint, has lead to a definite deterioration in many if not most of those things that determine where we are as a nation.

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Comment by AES :

Praying is expressing our gratitude for God’s help and protection. It is supremely selfish, arrogant, and ungrateful to say prayer “offends” you. That is like saying, “I owe nothing to you, God, for I am my own god, and I will be my own god and go my own way, even while I am breathing God’s air and living on God’s planet. I will take and take and never even say thank you. Plus, I will prevent others from expressing their thanks because it offends ME.”

For those who deny that there is a God or that his ways are right and our ways are wrong, examine how the world would be if we really obeyed Jesus Christ. We would love one another, share everything, and live circumspectly with honor, trust, and goodness. There would be no more poverty, wickedness, or other problems.

Now take a look at what happens when we live by men’s wisdom. Men say that only the fittest survive, and that you should look to your own survival, your own wants, your own needs. They say you should satisfy your own lusts, because, after all, is it not natural? Imagine a world in which everyone were always engaging in such behaviors. Men would not nurture women in any way, for women would be just objects to acquire or discard, and children would be a nuisance, not to be allowed to interfere with a man’s lifestyle. Mothers would abandon their babies because, after all, the babies were an encumbrance. Better yet, why not kill the babies before they were born, avoiding additional inconvenience? Note that if everyone behaved like this, the entire human race would be wiped out.

This should sound familiar because it’s going on now. It’s part of the “I don’t have to pray or acknowledge God” attitude.” This, and all variations of going your own way rather than following the Lord, will bring on destruction. You can believe that the Founding Fathers knew this and tried to instill values and protections so that we could obey God rather than men. There is no benefit in placing men’s values above God’s. There is only complete destruction of all that is good, wholesome, and worthwhile. Make no mistake, those who abandon prayer are abandoning protection, safety, and prosperity … all of which are blessings from a good and gracious God.

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Comment by Steve Smith :

I’d like to start with this; I’m a huge fan of religion. So long as it’s not hateful or a hindrance to others, than I fully support it. I especially respect much of the Christian doctrine, and the idea of forgiveness I greatly respect (though not a big fan of original sin, but that’s besides the point).

However, stuff like this has simply got to stop. Anyone who’s taken statistics can tell you what an utter crock this information is.

Firstly, it does not take into account population change. That more or less eliminates the reliability of any of these charts, but let’s ignore that fact for now.

Now, let me give you an example of a similar way of distorting facts:

On October 7th of 1941, John Curtin became the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. As I’m sure you know, just two months later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Therefor, John Curtin is to blame for U.S. involvement in WWII.

Ridiculous, but you’ve done the exact same thing here. Do you know what event also happened in 1962? The merging of The United Lutheran Church in America, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, American Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church into the Lutheran Church of America.

So, was the merging of all the Lutheran Churches the cause of the increase in STD’s? I have just as much evidence as you have.

This is why I’m glad my parents allowed me to choose my own faith. I don’t have to defend my own religion from people who appear to be trying to actively destroy it, from the inside. There is NO benefit to trying to deceive people, or falsely reinforce your own faith through flawed logic. And really, there are only two reasons why this was posted; one, you’re trying to convince people to allow prayer by using evidence you KNOW is completely inaccurate, or two, you’re grasping for straws in order to prove to yourself you’re right. It would seem to me a person of such strong faith wouldn’t need positive re-enforcement to keep it strong.

If you feel the need to respond, and I encourage it, I will not even acknowledge anyone who a.) threatens me with damnation or anything similar, b.) merely says, “You’re wrong because I say so”, or c.) tries to use my age as if it had any bearing on my argument.

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Comment by Rebecca :

Hey Steve, can I have your babies?

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Comment by Tony Mercado :

The truth in the matter is that this country was founded under the principle of God. You can believe it or not but God is real. You see every time that the world tries to prove that the things of God are not real or try to disclaim that the facts that are in the bible are not true or never happened they always prove themselves wrong and God right.

Steve can you prove the big bang theory to be true? The truth of the word of God is really what matters to me. And I believe that the fear of you knowing that all these things are true is what drives you to your comments. You need to see that it is very different now, but it has a lot to do with the decision that were made earlier in our lives.

If you get a girl pregnant when you’re about 15 years old it will have a big impact in your life and things will really change for you. And that has to do with the decision you made. Those decisions you make now will can dictate and have a great impact in your future.

Same thing when it comes to praying in schools and having a relationship with Christ. Your choice will set your future, believe or not.

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Comment by Anonymous :

In the end everyone will have to answer to God and be held accountable for what we did or didnt do. One day some of you are going to wish you prayed to God and acknowledged Him. How can you be here on Earth and not know someone created you I feel so sorry for people who think this way there is an aferlife which is eternity And being an educater myself I see how the school systems are messed up Children are running the schools it caos. And for those that feel that you dont need God and your life is just perfect your lying keep it real cuz life is not easy for anyone but I put my faith and trust in the Lord and I know whatever Im going through it may me hard hurtful but when I have done all i can I just let Him do the rest. I dont expect nonbelievers to understand but you can understand just open your heart. lol I know I will get smart responses to this but o well they laugh and talked about Jesus too hey they crusified him but he rose again so that we all can have eternal life EVERYONE no matter what you have done WE ARE ALL SINNERS and be with our heavenly father you gotta see the bigger picture there is more than this world there is better. Romans 3: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But like I said i know there may be smart comments after this but for every smart comment maybe one or two will understand. God bless all of you : ) Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Comment by Steve Smith :

Rebecca: Sorry, but I’m pretty sure I quality as jailbait. =P

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Comment by Robin @ Heart of Wisdom :

* What the secular world calls wisdom excludes God, stresses human self-sufficiency, makes humanity the highest authority, and refuses to recognize God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. God calls this worldly wisdom foolishness:
* For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
* For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21).
* .but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23).
* For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Corinthians 1:25).
* The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).
* For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19).

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Comment by Liars Figure and figures lie :

Steve,

Amen! As much as I beleieve in faith I do believe that figures can lie and liars can figure. I dont think anyone can establish a causal relationship between ending school prayer and any thing else with the exception of church attendance. But sometimes people of “faith” project ugly assumptions on the world.

There were many events, Watergate, Vietnam, two income households, suburbanization and other trends that had to do with the social dislocation that we have now. I believe that the decline of civic America has more to do with this than prayer specifically. One could argue that the lack of prayer in schools was a facilitator of racial integration and the civil rights movement. Or some might argue that the civil rights movement was responsible for the statistics above.

As for the SAT scores, I think that one thing that is not taken into account is the large number of people not qualified to attend college who are taking it now. Some how an idea was spread that college was for everyone. So intellectually mediocre people started taking the test and test scores fell.

As for peoples rights to pray, I think everyone should take a little time out of every day to meditate/pray and get ready to be productive. But no one should force me to pray towards Mecca or lead me in a Baptist prayer that indicates that I am an idol worshiping Catholic.

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Comment by Kerri :

This is an interesting piece, but the hostile comments ruin the reading. There is no doubt that this country has gone down hill since prayer was taken out of school [whether you believe it's the cause or not].

I’m amazed that there once was a time when school children took a minute of their morning to give thanks to God and ask for His protection. That’s incredible. And what a simple and straight forward prayer.

“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.”

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Comment by Spiritn'Soul :

Wow those are some findings! It seems that ever since America stepped away from God, she has been having difficulty. Taking prayer from schools moved the nation one step further away from God and this separation is more evident nowadays than it ever has been before. Look at the economy-the recession has not only affected American families but it has affected small and large businesses alike and has caused homelessness and unemployment to skyrocket. Look at our youth-more and more youth are using drugs, having pre-marital sex, and joining gangs as a way to feel loved or hide their inner problems when what they are really in need of is a true relationship with the Almighty God. Look at our families-many youth are growing up in a single parent household and marriage has become more of a fairytale than a reality. (We are truly living in the last days of the world). America and its citizens must realize that God is the answer to their problems. Aside from statistics, the point is the farther we get away from God, the farther He will be from us. But His promise is if we come closer to Him, He will come closer to us. (James 4:8) But anyways prophesy must be fulfilled…not my will but God’s will be done. Correlation may not always imply causation but praying and leaning on God can change the nation. May God bless your spirit and your soul.

Suggestions: Those who may not believe in the power of prayer or God for that matter-Maybe you should spend your times in other ways…perhaps try reading the Holy Bible (God can open your eyes) and/or Mr. David Barton’s book (perhaps this would clear any issues you may have concerning his findings)

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[...] is quite a bit higher these days. And you are more then welcome to see the graphs for yourself at http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/when-prayer-was-taken-out-of-school/. Now, they say we claim Christianity, but to anyone with common sense it’s evident what we [...]
Comment by Kristy :

Here are some interesting statistics. There is no way to accurately say that these increases are solely due to taking prayer out of school but the time in history when prayer was removed from schools marks a turning point in our history as a nation. Starting in the ’60′s, our country has taken a nose dive on the scale of morality. And, that is evident in these graphs. All the same, this info is interesting & extremely disheartening.

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Comment by fred lapides :

fake correlation. School is NOT th eplace for prayer. I am a tax payer, religious, but I have my home and my place of worship and it is not in school nor in the movie theatre nor in the mall nor in the Post Office.
stolp indoctrinating our kids with this nonsense.

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Comment by Amanda :

No. Prayer DOES belong in schools, and if you are a true christian you will agree. There is not just ONE place for God. He is everywhere, and unless we start living for him, horrible things will still keep going on. He needs to be in schools, in our jobs, and everywhere. He’s not a little pocket God, he’s HERE and we need to acknowledge him and start thanking and praying to him.

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Christina Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Amen!!!!!!!!!!! I believe that 100%

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Comment by Stella :

Indeed? I suppose the graphs are believable for someone who has never taken statistics. And just out of curiosity, what about the children who are not baptist, lutheran, etc…but instead buddhist, muslim and such? Are you going to make them pray to the judeo-christian god? Good way to promote understanding between people. ~shakes head~

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Comment by Danny Blitz :

We are not a theocracy. I pray the Lord Jesus gives us wisdom to jump off this path.

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Comment by Marilyn :

Hi Robin, i want to ask your permission to use this site as a reference to show how the impact of removing religion in school has in our society. Please grant permission. Thanks.

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Comment by Justayoungin' :

I will be researching the info myself. Thanks alot. It is good to stand up for what you believe in. These days there are so much violence and horrible things happened among students…..I know that God or at least the fear and reverance for God is the ONLY thing that will stop it. If someone wont believe that the absence of corporate prayer (asking God for peace and protection) has caused a moral decline in teens, they should at least believe that it has had a significant affect. Nevertheless, people should research the facts for themselves. The TRUTH does not have to hide itself and in the face of testings will still remain the the TRUTH.God bless.

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Comment by Amalee :

All of the people commenting on here that are saying that this article is “absurd” and “doesn’t prove anything” probably should not argue about this if they have never even opened a Bible. I could have argued this as well, but then I opened a Bible and then it all made sense.
Thanks for putting this on here, I am using it as a source for my essay on why God should not be taken out of schools.

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Comment by Robin :

Dear John,

As you know, we’ve been working real hard in our town to get prayer back in our schools. Finally, the school board approved a plan of teacher-led prayer with the children participating at their own option. Children not wishing to participate were to be allowed to stand out in the hallway during prayer time. We hoped someone would sue us so we could go all the way to the supreme court and get the old devil-inspired ruling reversed.

Naturally, we were all excited by the school board action. As you know, our own little Billy (not so little, any more though) is now in the second grade. Of course, Margaret and I explained to him no matter what the other kids did, he was going to stay in the classroom and participate.

After the first day of school, I asked him, “How did the prayer time go?”

“Fine.”

“Did many kids go out into the hallway?”

“Two.”

“Excellent. How did you like your teachers prayer?”

“It was different, dad. Real different from the way you pray.”

“Oh? Like how?”

“She said,’Hail, Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners…’”

The next day I talked with the principal. I politely explained I wasn’t prejudiced against Catholics but I would appreciate Billy being transferred to a non-Catholic teacher. The principal said it would be done right away.

At supper that evening I asked Billy to say the blessings. He slipped out of his chair, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, raised his hand palms up in the air and began to hum.

You’d better believe I was at the principal’s office at eight o’clock the next morning. “Look,” I said. ‘I don’t really know much about these Transcendental Meditationists, but I would feel a lot more comfortable If you could move Billy to a room where the teacher practices an older, more established religion.”

That afternoon I met Billy as soon as he walked in the door after school.

“I don’t think you’re going to like Mrs. Nakasone’s prayer, either, Dad.”

“Out with it.”

“She kept chanting Namu Amida Butsu…”

The following morning I was waiting for the principal in the school parking lot.

“Look, I don’t want my son praying to the Eternal Spirit of whatever to Buddha. I want him to have a teacher who prays in Jesus’ name!”

“What about Bertha Smith?”

“Excellent.”

I could hardly wait to hear about Mrs. Smith’s prayer. I was standing on the front steps of the school when the final bell rang.

“Well?” I asked Billy as we walked towards the car.

“Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Mrs. Smith asked God to bless us and ended her prayer in Jesus’ name, amen just like you.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Now we’re getting some place.”

“She even taught us a verse of scripture about prayer,” said Billy.

I beamed. “Wonderful. What was the verse?”

“Lets see…” he mused for a moment. “And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.”

We had reached the car. “Fantastic,” I said reaching for the door handle. Then paused. I couldn’t place the scripture.

“Billy, did Mrs. Smith say what book that verse was from?”

“Third Nephi, chapter 19, verse 18.”

“Nephi what?”

“Nephi,” he said. “It’s in the Book of Mormon.”

The school board doesn’t meet for a month. I’ve given Billy very definite instructions that at prayer time each day he’s to go out into the hallway. I plan to be at that board meeting. If they don’t do something about this situation, I’LL sue. I’LL take it all the way to the Supreme Court if I have to. I don’t need schools or anybody else teaching my son about religion. We can take care of that ourselves at home and at church, thank you very much.

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Comment by Natalie :

I must say the point here is being missed. Okay so let’s talk about statistics and graphs for a moment. Can they be off or the correlations miscalculated? Yes,sure they can. However, I challenge you to prove that teen pregnancies, pre-martial sex, divorce, crime, lack of education, etc has not drastically risen in the last 40 to 50 years. In the political arena even these issues are heatedly debated as how to solve them.

The whole point is, as a Nation, we are steadily removing God from our lives. BIG, HUGE, ENORMOUS, mistake. With the removal of God is also the removal of his protection and blessings.

We should pray in our schools. We should pray in our homes. We should pray for our Government. We should make God the Ruler over every facet of our lives. Shame on us for not standing up for Him, even as He hung on the cross for us.

Natalie

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Comment by christina :

that is so awesome. i believe that that could be true. i very much believe in prayer and the bible. it does seem that the more the government takes God out of the picture the more problems the united states has. thank you cuz im doing a paper on that too.

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Comment by Anonymous :

prayer is something private and to be done on your own time at your own church where their are other belivers. by doing prayer in schools we are eliminating other religions because christianity is one of the main religions here in america. other religions pray more than once a day by letting a religion pray their one prayer they will need to let the other religion do all their prayers as well otherwise you will be singling out certain minorities

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Comment by Summer :

Is it possible that rates were once so low because data was simply not being recorded at that time and that medical diagnosis not was reliable. Teen pregnancies were lower? No, they were simply either shipping the girls off and taking their babies or forcing them into marriage. A piece of data you don’t have here, while the “teen pregnancy” rates were lower, the teen marriage rates were much higher. Why? Because teens were having sex, except without the protection options they have today, and then being tossed into shot gun marriages as soon as possible.

STD rates were lower? Maybe, or maybe doctors were not as able to diagnose them. Remember, doctors once thought masturbation caused insanity. They thought smoking was fine and healthy. They caused the death of thousands of women in a little thing called “labor fever” by not washing their hands between patients. I’ve heard many historical claims that in the late 1800s and early 1900s STD rates were over the roof. But you have to search for the information, dig it out, because they were called by different names and misdiagnosed as a dozen other things.

As for the rest of the chaqrts, well you’re a Christian. And Christians see nothing wrong with lying for Jesus. You’d tell me my house was on fire if you thought A) it would convert me, or B) it made you feel more self-righteous. Christians just cannot be trusted to tell the truth, they let their emotions get in the way of facts time and time again.

So Robin, I am calling you a liar. Or at least the enabler of a liar by passing on charts that are the lies of another Christian such as Barton. But I guess you’re OK with that since you just have to ask Jesus to forgive you and then go back to lying again tomorrow. Barton has been torn down again and again by real historians, the ones who actually look at historical facts rather than make them up. And yet he continues to lie for Jesus, and people such as you continue to spread those lies for Jesus.

Jeremiah 14:14, “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”

Ezekiel 13:19, “And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?”

1 John 4:20, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

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Comment by Kathy :

I think it’s sadder that rational thinking adults can’t be good and kind simply because it’s the decent thing to do. That we invent a heaven & hell instead of empowering kids to create wonderful lives NOW instead of pining away for an imaginary afterlife. Religion is abusive. If there’s a god, he’s put us here for a reason (to love one another) and religious people really miss the mark by fixating upon prayer and “salvation” instead of simply making the most of this amazing life.

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Comment by Ratchell :

For those of you who do not understand God:

I am no expert, but let me tell you how my folks found God and how I found God. I am no devout church goer as churches have become money sanctuaries…
My father found God when after four long months of being in the hospital (after I was prematurely born and diagnosed with Hydrocephalus (water on the brain), they finally sent me home at four pounds!
When I was 20 years old I found I was pregnant and after being told for 18 years I couldnt have children. My doctor said I could, but had to speed it up a little. Mike is now 15 (sigh) and his brother William is 6 (yes I did it again). I have a college degree and my own business–God told me I CAN!!

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Comment by Danyyil Zakharchuk :

Hey I’m doing my senior research project on Prayers in school so if anyone have some information or some sites send me on my e-mail Danyyil_1992@mail.ru thanks

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Comment by Eboni Wright :

I want to know how David Barton is coming up with the numbers for his graph. Do you have a link not to his website, bot the actual cite that verifies that?

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Comment by Wayne :

I came across your web site while doing research on the subject. I was wondering where the Graphs are from? I am in college and need to site all of my sources, form credible sites and sources (not that I think you are not credible)my professors would have a problem. (of course that is their problem.)My problem is my paper.
Thank you for the information, TV and Other things may be partially responsible, but the downward spiral started with the removal of prayer. Without prayer our nation will not recover, We as a People need to turn to God in prayer, then we will turn this nation around.

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Comment by kathy :

Thank you so much robin for your blog!

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Comment by Mary Addams :

Let us teach our own public schooled children, spouses (who might work at schools), teachers and friends to say this prayer silently, if necessary, when they start their school day. Let us all memorize it a pray it every morning…. with our kids as we send them off to school… homeschool, if you can.

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Comment by kathy :

Hi Again, Robin, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve been sharing this link on my facebook and everyone else seems to be sharing it too!!! The word needs to be spread, thanks again so much and God Bless you! Kathy

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Comment by Darren :

This is a wonderful report, however it was a waste of time putting it up why?
1.To many sheepeole living today
2.To many stupid people in the world.
3.To many people over who comes from other counties that don`t know what freedom means and/or what it means.
4.Since everybody thinks they are the same, then conversations on the matter go no where.
5.People have forgotten God.
6.It used to be God,Guns,and guts, now it`s people, peace and love.
7.why go on?

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Comment by Danielle C. :

I think that prayer should definatley be put back in school. In my opinion everything you have said is completley true. I also think that your grapphs you have at the top of the page show every thing that we need to know because it’s God way of showing that when you don’t do as you are supposed to bad things will happen. I know that if prayer was in school it would be a lot more young people on the right path in life. i just hope one day realize it before its too late. Because excepting God can be the difference in spending the rest of eternity in the Wonderful Heaven above or the Pitts of Hell. You really have inspired me, thank you. I know God is looking down upon you smiling for bringing this to the world. God Bless and have a good day.

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Comment by Danielle C. :

i forgot to say that you have also inspired me to write a persuasive essayting prayer back into school for my English Class=] Keep doing what your doing!!!!!!!!!

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Comment by JJ Tanel :

this is really incredible Im using this in my project and giving you fulll credit for all your hard work. Im a strong believer and this helps soo much more. Thanks again

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Comment by tatiana :

I totally agree.. even the graphs shows proof!!

am astounished.. but
its sooo
true

their are soo many gay people in my school

i know God doesnt like that!!

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Comment by Baka :

For all of you saying that this was because “prayer was banned”, you are incorrect. Mandated prayer was banned, though students still have the right to be as religious as they want but without an adult telling them what to pray. The teaching of religion was banned also because it infringes the Establishment clause of the first amendment. I am not sorry for posting these facts because i am bothered by some people’s ignorance as to what actually is banned and what isn’t.

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Comment by Enrique :

To get an accurate gauge of America’s moral compass you must also consider the rampant racism and discrimination that occurred during the decades where these graphs (which are incorrect) show a low count of “immorality”, against all minorities, including women. Women couldn’t even vote for many of those years. This paints a much different picture than what you interpret in your article. Not very “wise” of you to ignore that. I would say we stopped prayer right before the civil rights movement that protected minorities, women and employees from the abuse that had been accepted for hundreds of years. Maybe because we deterred indoctrination of children in public schools by removing prayer, we experienced a moral awakening in society realizing all people should be treated equal.

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Comment by Aaron :

Hey Robin,

I agree with you here.. It’s a sad day when morals get so low that prayer is considered immoral in schools now. This is why we have chosen to homeschool.
Aaron´s last blog ..Free Blogs

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Comment by BonusLitteraeXLI :

All statistical arguments of cause, effect, causation, and correlation attempting to tear down the connections between prayer in schools and the subsequent spikes in anti-moral behaviors, all fail to deal with the fact that while these graphs show numerological data, this is not a statistical argument to begin with, it is a moral argument, a conscience argument, an argument of wisdom.

Prayer was removed from schools. What does this mean? It is a diminishing of the easy legal reach of Faith and God in a public environment that nearly all citizens of the United States passes through before they become an adult.
So it encourages the dismissal, rejection, disrespect and marginalizing of Religion. It cracks the door to allow the corrupt perspective of “God doesn’t belong…”

God set the rules for morality, from murder and theft being wrong to forgiveness and mercy being right. The diminishing or reduction of an idea that encourages, standardizes and even demands honorable morality within the social sphere, will then obviously diminish and reduce that honorable morality.

This must be true; if exposure did not equal social modification, then there would be no need to remove prayer from schools, or keep Chruch and State separate because there would be no need to defend citizens of the potential religious indoctrination of students in public schools. If there was no connection between the removal of what humans are exposed to, and so the reduction of evidence that such concepts are influencing their lives, then it would also need to be true that the existence of any items, would prove ineffective in modifying the human outlook. This is obviously known to all, not to be true.

While the removal of prayer in schools may not be directly correlative to the after measured immorality, it was the falling of morality that caused the acceptance of the removal of prayer from schools to begin with.

These graphs are irrelevant in the end, as it is what ever caused, allowed and accepted prayer to be removed from schools, that caused the continued moral disintegration observed after the fact.

I repeat myself deliberately, restating things different ways gives more opportunities for a statement to be understood, so I will end by doing such one more time.

Removing prayer from schools did not cause immorality.

Immorality caused prayer to be removed from schools.

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Comment by Paula M. Mintle :

I am a graduate student at the UNM,a Christian, a teacher in the public school system needs you help in a presentation of Moral Development in Education and the statistics graphs would be most benefical to present in my presentation.This is a way to make students aware of the importance of Prayer in our Public Schools.

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Pingback by I Thought About the American Educational System,Pt.2 « Righteouschoice's Blog :

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Comment by glenn :

Lets just say the graphs are wrong. For all of you that say the graphs are wrong i want you to use your “God Given” brains. Ever since America has given in too the people who don’t believe in God our country has weakened. If our country was founded on God why take that away? If you go to someone elses home and lets say you dont like the foundation of the home. So you go to the city and get a bunch of people and eventually get the approval of getting the foundation re-done. This is what is happening to the USA. We get people of different religions and beliefs coming into OUR country where the foundation is based on god and these people actually have the nerve to try to change the whole foundation of the USA. If someone came to your home and got approval to change the foundation of your home because it was against their beliefs in how a home should be built what would happen to the house?… It would be destroyed. So lets say USA is Our house. The foundation is god. What happens if you take the foundation (god) out of our home (USA)? It will be destroyed. If people have different beliefs than they should study how USA was founded and by what beliefs. Thanks for the statistics! Seperation of church in state is a slippery slope. One day people will see.

p.s. For you non believers out there… How would you like it if i came to your home and made you start praying because its something I believe in. So I break down the door and make you pray? you probably wouldnt like it im guessing. Whats the difference of you living in a HOME called the united states of america and trying to change the core beliefs of this country? GET SERIOUS PEOPLE…

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Comment by kelly cunningham :

i am starting a Christian club at school this information is sure to convenience Salem r-80 school Bord that a youth group will do some good bringing god back into schools will not only decrease all these horrible rating but also give students something to look forward to in school i believe that bringing the bible back into school will also decrease the drop out rate as well as the violence and emo i do think you for you research

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Pingback by Effects of removing religion from public schools - Religion and Philosophy -Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, God, Universe, Science, Spirituality, Faith, Evidence - City-Data Forum :

[...] of removing religion from public schools What Happened When The Praying Stopped? When Prayer Was Taken Out of School : Robin’s Blog [SIZE=-1]A. Young People[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1. For 15 years before 1963 pregnancies in girls ages 15 [...]
Comment by kevin :

I BEGG TO DEFER. IN 1994 I SCHEDULED ON A COMMUTER FLIGHT FROM INDIANAPOLIS TO CHICAGO THEN TO PHILADELPHIA. BEFORE LEAVING TO TE AIRPORT MY GIRLFRIEND PRAYED FOR ME TO HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT[SOMETHING NEITHER OF US HAD NEVER DONE]. WELL I AM SAD TO SAY THE PLANE CRASHED IN NORTHERN INDIANA AND EVERYONE WAS KILLED. I MISSED THE FLIGHT BY LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. HAD WE NOT TAKEN TIME TO PRAY AND LOOK FOR A BIBLE I WANTED TO TAKE WITH ME I WOULD HAVE BEEN ON BOARD. I CALL THAT DEVINE INTERVENTION.CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF.

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