Just what about religion makes it so awful that people argue that it should stay out of the learning experience of the audience that attends school? I think the animosity felt towards religion in the learning environment is caused by the grand diversity that our world has in the realms of ethnicity and religion. Parents generally want their children to worship the religion they themselves have chosen and not even experience the slightest bit of influence of another religion. They believe they send their children to school to be educated to earn a better position in life, but not to be exposed to the religious differences that they weren't shown by their parents.
Think about it, why is religion not allowed in school today? What kind of environment is school? Most schools are public, and some are private. Religion on the other hand is totally private. Children who attend public schools don't all have the same beliefs. They all come from different types of homes and religions. Those who chose to worship their own specific religion do so in their homes and at their own designated place of worship. That's why we have churches and why prayer should not be allowed in public places. Parents aren't influenced religiously when in public like when they at the workplace or having dinner in a restaurant. "Since schools are public and religion is private, these should not be mixed for any reason." .
Traditionally, people are the religion they are because it is the family's religion. It is difficult to place prayer in school. One reason is that the young children are a very easily influenced audience. They are receptive of what a teacher would tell them, especially at a very young age. What is to keep a teacher from sharing their religious views and practices with their students? What 6 to 8-year-old child would recognize the difference between "voluntary" prayer and the mandated school curriculum? If school prayer were made part of the official teaching syllabus, children would be confused about what religion that they should go with.
