As long as there were test that I forgot to study for I was praying in high school. Following the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington D.C., many Americans have turned their eyes to heaven for answers as the age of terrorism has dawned on America. When the question arouse about whether praying in school was permitted, before September 11th the answer was a concise "no." Today, it is up for debate. Law dates all the way back to the Bible and the Bible is the basis of Christian religion. The Ten Commandments was the first form of law. Today, the law is that religion may not even present is schools. With the Constitutions First Amendment, court cases, and many local, state, and federal policies saying that religion may not be expressed on school time, what will the next few generations of children be like?.
The First Amendment of the Constitution states that "congress shall may no law representing the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of." Interpreting these words and applying them is rather hard to do. Throughout a time of two hundred years the First Amendment has been referred to many other names. It is often referred to as the Establishment Clause. It has been called that in recent years. In the 1800's it was often referred to as the Religious Freedom Amendment. Later it became known as the Freedom of Speech Amendment or the Freedom of Press Amendment. But in its lifetime it has been changed to the Separation of Church and State Amendment. Four of the phrases that I have stated are directly linked to the First Amendment. They are the establishment clause, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of press. When you read the wording of the First Amendment you will see that.
"Congress shall make no law representing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
