"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
- The Bill of Rights, U.S Constitution
The first amendment includes many of our major freedoms, including speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. Adopted in 1791 as a part of the bill of rights, the first amendment has withstood the test of time because all citizens can find a use that applies to them. Today, many of these freedoms are under attack. Religion, speech, and assembly are all attacked, and may be in danger. But all of these freedoms serve an important purpose
Why do we have a freedom of religion? Aren't Church and State separate? Both of these are great questions. First off we have a freedom of religion because we are a country of immigrants, and more importantly a free country. Because we are a country of immigrants our citizens come from many different backgrounds and cultures. This means that there are many different religions in America. And due to our diverse population, it would not be right to regulate which religions can be active. Freedom of religion means you have the right to worship and support whatever religion you wish. It also means that you can choose not to support any religion, both are okay.
There is a certain irony at play when people protest the freedom of religion. People use their freedom to not support religion, and their freedom to speak freely- both part of the first amendment- to protest the other side of the freedom of religion. The fact that the people are protesting religion practically contradicts their argument.
In my school there is an issue with our Cross Country team praying before their meets. The prayers are students led, but coaches bow their heads and remove their hats. Some individuals believe that this is not okay because the coaches are supporting a religion and making those who do not support it feel uncomfortable. When these issues arise it is important to look at court precedent, or past court cases' decisions. The precedent in this case is that coaches are not allowed to say the prayer to the students, or be in the prayer circle. Student prayer is allowed though. The interesting part is that the actual laws behind this say that coaches simply cannot pray aloud to the students, but being in a prayer circle would be considered okay.
People say that praying during a public school activity is a violation of the separation of church and state. The problem with that argument is that prayer in public school activities is optional, not forced. This means it would be more of a violation to ban praying in schools, then to allow it. The important thing to remember is that people can also choose not to pray, in every single situation where people are praying.
