We are guaranteed by the first amendment the right for freedom of religion. By this right, we as American citizens should be allowed to have prayer in the public schools and teachers should be allowed to teach religion courses trough the high school years. We should also be able to talk about religion in and out of our classes.

With our right for freedom of religion we should be allowed to use it whenever and wherever we wish to. To often people are scared to express their faith in public because of the thought of being killed, arrested, or looked down upon for expressing themselves. With the first amendment right of freedom of religion students and teachers should be free to share their faith in and out of their classrooms. Students and teachers often discuss religious topics in history classes when they are on the topic of early American history. They should be allowed to talk about faith whenever they wish, not at just these certain specified times. Religion courses should be offered both to high school students as electives in public school systems, since they are taught in both Christian and catholic schools. I

believe we as students should be taught about numerous religions such as Baptist, Catholic, Buddhism, and Judaism. This is to prepare us for when we enter the real world, so that we will have a better feel for what these types of religions believe in. Going off to college we will meet and make friends who believe in different religions and come from different backgrounds and cultures than ours. I believe we need to have a better understanding of religions so we can get along with the new friends we make.

Prayer in the public school systems should be allowed because of freedom of religion from the first amendment. Students and teachers should be allowed to say prayers before they eat their meals, take a test, and at numerous other times. Stated in the article Prayer In The Public School Systems , by Steve Richard s, says we as students and faculty say the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of each week, therefore we should be able to say a prayer each week to pray for a good week at school. See You At The Pole is a national event for students and teachers to gather around their schools flag poles before the school day to pray. If this is legal then we should be allowed to pray in school or on the school grounds.

In conclusion I believe that prayer should be allowed in and on school grounds. We are guaranteed by the first amendment, freedom of religion, therefore we should be allowed to use it whenever and wherever we wish. We should not have to live in a society where we walk around scared to share our faith.