Keep Prayer Private in Public Schools

Re “Terrorism Spurs Push for Prayer in Schools,” Dec. 2: I do not feel it is appropriate to have group recitation of religious prayer in schools. Any child of any religion is free to pray during any quiet moment at school.

Growing up Catholic in the 1930s and ‘40s with mostly Jewish and Protestant friends, I experienced great feelings of unease during the teacher-led Protestant version of the Lord’s Prayer. There were two problems.

First, I felt I was being coerced to recite the Protestant, much-longer prayer, which was not the prayer I learned in my church. Second, my Jewish friends were not accommodated at all. At Christmastime we sang all Christian hymns, which I enjoyed and were part of my tradition, but Jewish traditions were ignored. I do not know if there were Muslims among us, but the school-district-sponsored prayer made me uncomfortable. Most of these problems were corrected when my children were in school. Let’s not bring back the old, discriminatory ways.

Particularly in these times, schools should foster understanding. Instead of prayer or listing the Ten Commandments, foster respect for each other and look for common themes in religious beliefs.

Rita L. Healy

Huntington Beach

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No one prevents any individual in this county from praying while in school. Individuals and groups pray, schools do not. As a Christian firm in my faith, I have no need to impose it in any manner on anyone outside myself.

I see no reason for those less firm to impose their insecurity upon others whose faith may differ. It’s time that we realized the true meaning of religious freedom and recognized the attack on it in terms of school prayer as just that: an attack.

The war on terrorism is just as much a war on intolerance, which lies at the core of every form of extremism. We may be able to wrap ourselves in the flag but we have no means or any special right to claim that God is on our side. Only an extremist would exclaim that “Allah (or God) is great” as an excuse for the murder or subjugation of others. This does not differ from self-proclaimed Christians who would go beyond their role model, Jesus. To be like him would be to do what he would do. I assure you that he would have no use or need for--and would not insist on--school prayer.

Lynn H. Maxson

Simi Valley

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If you want an example of schools that embrace prayer, look no further than the madrasas where the terrorists of Sept. 11 learned to hate us in the name of faith.

Kay M. Gilbert

Santa Monica

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If prayer was any damn good, Sept. 11 would have been just another day. If prayer could actually stop violence and injustice we would already be living in a utopia. Since we aren’t, it’s clear that prayer is worthless. Let’s not waste precious learning time with a meaningless ritual.

Michael Jabbra

Westchester