Conflict Over Church and State Still Haunts American Landscape

Church and state has never been as vital an issue in The United States as it is today.

We have in this country today a group of extremists who are convinced of their rectitude and have the money and the clout to make their views in the highest offices in the land.

The so-called Religious Right strikes a sharp cord among many Americans when it advocates prayer in our public schools. Plenty of school kids still pray, but not in organized school events. Yes, we used to be able to have prayer in school, or at least a moment of silent reflection, but there are many parts of our country in which 'voluntary prayer' would not work today.

Young people can be very mean to someone who doesn't go with the majority, someone who is 'different.' This person can quickly find him or herself cut off completely from the crowd. Can't you hear it: "Joe doesn't pray with us. He's a nerd!"

It is very easy to conform. But in areas where one religious group is overwhelming in numbers, it can be very hard to stick up for your minority viewpoint. Thus, in school, 'voluntary' will most likely surrender to 'being cool.'

Don't dare be different.

In areas where many relgious views are expressed, one or more groups may be offended by a prayer. Is it worth starting a possible 'rumble' among the students over who should say the prayer or how it should be said?

Of course, if you think you are right, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. But public school administrators are charged with keeping order in their domain, and if they don't, chaos will result.

In a recent incident in Sampson County, N.C., in the Eastern part of the state, a freshman high school student handed out anti-gay religious tracts on campus.

He was ordered by the principal to desist. When he did not, he eas given three days in-school suspension. He was penalized not for handing out the tracts, but for disobeying an instruction to desist. The principal felt that his conduct was disruptive, and the county superintendent supported her. There was quite a furore in this very conservative, heavily Southern Baptist community, but when it died down, the ruling stood.

Before getting emotional, think about the issue carefully. If you allowed one religion to hand out literature or preach in a school, would you not have to extend the same right to all? In that case, you will open your school doors to every extreme faith or cult. Your guest speaker might be a Ku Klux Klan leader, a hate-filled Muslim cleric or a racist black preacher. And you might as well forget about having discipline in the school.

Prayer by itself is one thing. But if you open public doors to organized religion, you are not only violating the law, but also asking for trouble. It would be better if more Americans would wear their religion in their hearts instead of with their mouths.

We have freedom of religion, and freedom from religion and there is no need for one to interfere with the other.