Religion, as defined in Webster's New School Dictionary, is "any system of faith or worship, etc. built around God, ethical values, a philosophy, etc." ("Religion" 602). Much of the population of this country has some sort of a religion that they practice. After all, it is the free right of Americans to do so. The point, however, is that schools and any form of religion should remain separate from each other because there is no way to ensure that each religion and its practices are represented equally.
As of right now, any religious activity within schools is frowned upon. The main reasoning behind the idea of a separation of church and state is the fact that there are so many different religions. When the issue of placing a religion in schools first came about, "the whole idea of separation was so that [there was not] a national religion and [discrimination] against those that are different because of their religious beliefs" ("U.S." 3). To have schools enforce religion is like saying that discrimination is okay. Congress will probably never be able to pass a law that would satisfy every single person's wants simply because that religion is a touchy subject, and the government must make sure it is sensitive to people's feelings. The First Amendment states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." (Janus 1011). This plainly states that the government should remain neutral when it comes to religious expression. It also implies that it is every person's civic right to practice any religion they choose, which includes during school hours. The government does not have the right to either enforce or restrict people from expressing their religious beliefs. This plainly gives students the right to pray and express their beliefs while at school. The only catch is that one person's beliefs can not offend another person's religion.
