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Paul Ryan Supports Prayer in Public Schools: ‘A Constitutional Issue of the States’

Sep. 6, 2012 7:13am Billy Hallowell

Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., arrives at a campaign event at the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel, Iowa, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

PROVO, Utah (TheBlaze/AP) — It’s been a big week for faith in the 2012 election cycle. On the same day that the Democrats rushed to insert “God” back into their platform, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said Wednesday that he supports prayer in public schools.

The Wisconsin congressman addressed the issue during a brief stop inside a Republican volunteer center in Provo, Utah. He was in the state to attend a fundraiser.

Asked by a volunteer whether he supported giving states the right to allow “prayer or pledge” in schools, Ryan said he did.

“That’s a constitutional issue of the states, moral responsibility of parents, education,” Ryan continued.

“Exactly, so I am hoping to try and push that,” said the volunteer, 40-year-old Jenny Free, of Highland, Utah, a mother of nine.

“You know in Utah, I would think you would have a pretty good chance,” Ryan responded.

The remarks are generally in line with GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who said last year that he supports prayer in public schools as well. Romney told an Iowa audience that there should be more prayer in schools and more “religious ornamentation” in the public square.

Photo Credit: AP

“I’m not looking for teachers to have prayer every day in the classroom, but I do think at special ceremonies — graduation, football games and the like, that calling on our creator is a good idea,” he told CNN.

Ryan’s comments were made on the same day that the Democrats decided to put God and Jerusalem back into their platform, after sparking protests for originally removing both. Romney called the initial omission into question, claiming that it ”suggests a party that is increasingly out of touch with the mainstream of the American people.”

In the early 1960s, the Supreme Court struck down government-mandated prayer and Bible study in public schools. Voluntary, individual student prayers are still legal in public schools.

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Comments (113)

watashbuddyfriend
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:52am
Where are my BIBLE DOCTRINE friends out of Berachah Church, Houston, TX?

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woodyee
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:31am
When I was a young boy (I’m in my 60s’) we had prayer in school – often. We also celebrated patriotism – often. We ALL got along…

Then one day one of my friends meets me in the playground and asks me “Is your daddy a member of the KuKluxKlan?” and I said “What is that?” and he repeated the question – my “FRIEND”, wanted a yes or no answer without explanation. Not understanding, I said “No.” He sighed with relief, told me what the KuKluxKlan was and said that had I said yes, I would have been beat up. Turns out that my friend had just finished learning about that Democrat organization. Then, as I got old enough to serve in the military, the fit hit the shan and religion was tossed from school, thanks to LAWYERS and POLITICIANS…

same folks ruining our Country today. Our Country would be better off with fewer lawyers, temporary Representatives, and more Statesmen. We’d be better off if the States took back more of their responsibilities instead of pawning them off to the federal government.

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- justangry
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:27am
  Did you know that one of the many things Ron Paul did while in office with no success was introduce an amendment to the Constitution that would allow prayer back into the schools? Essentially redefining how the courts have turned everything around on us. It didn’t receive any backing, because Ron Paul was the bad guy here.
  
  Report this comment
- patty k
  Posted on September 16, 2012 at 5:56pm
  Taking prayer out of schools, just one step of many to tear down our society. Look what prayer has been substituted with. Civil rights for everything that isn’t a civil right. Flag burning/desecration, bible desecration, freedom of speech includes the right to lie, slander God, slander Christians, taking prayer out of school was the beginning of our downfall as a society. The constitution was written by a bunch of old white guys who believed in God.
  
  Report this comment
Dismayed Veteran
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:30am
I was in school from 1954-1966. When attending public school, we Pledged Allegiance and had a moment of silent prayer. When I attended Catholic school, we Pledged Allegiance and prayed out loud according to the Catholic faith. Interestingly enough, the Catholic school had many non-Catholic students who also prayed. I went to a Lutheran university and was required to attend chapel 3 days per week and convocation once per week, as well as taking 4 religion classes. As a Catholic, I didn’t have a problem with this.

We need to get back to the days when God was present in school.

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- DOra Glasberg
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:18am
  Why does god have to be in schools?
  How about supermarkets and gas stations?
  
  Report this comment
- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:58am
  The invisible being who never says anything audible, is never seen, or felt? How do you even know “a god” WAS “in the schools” back then? Just because people acted a certain way? People have been changing for centuries. People acted differently in different times.
  
  Report this comment
- VRW Conspirator
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:22pm
  well… Dora the Explorer…maybe you should explore what the Founders said about education, what the first SCOTUS said and held for over 160 years to be true, and what the first 80 Congress said about prayer in education.
  
  You know..that whole idea that the Bible should be a primary source for education at every level of schooling…or that the teaching of Biblical morals and ethics is necessary for a free and just people to prosper…or that government that does not abide by the Judeo-Christian teachings is wholly inept and unable to provide for and secure liberty for the citizens of that government.
  
  Or just look up how many schools were linked to a denomination of Christianity until the EVIL ARSE Woodrow Wilson decided to push for the Compulsory Education Act forcing children to leave the family business or farm and be stuck in a school house learning material that had no value to their lives and that cost their family money due to having to hire extra hands that the 13-16 year old uses to provide.
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:35pm
  What does that have to do with a PUBLIC school, you know 1st Amendment establishment clause. Lyin’ Ryan needs religious wedge issues to avoid talking about his assault on the middle class budget.
  
  Report this comment
- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:56pm
  VRW, I can point to quite a few places in the bible that are withOUT morality. But it doesn’t matter because biblical “morality” is all based upon what the “god” character claimed to say. If 3,000 people were to die for a fairly minor offense, . . . that was “moral”. If a bunch of youngsters are mauled by bears for making fun of a prophet, . . . well that was morally justified for poking fun at a bald guy. If a deities creation completely goes to crap on “him”, it is morally justifiable to kill every living blasted thing on the planet out of RAGE [a very human response, actually], but it be the “moral thing to do”.
  
  I could go on and on.
  
  All that to say, who CARES if the bible was used at the beginning of this country. Usage doesn’t make it right. New information often trumps the old.
  
  Report this comment
- CapitalismWorks
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 6:18pm
  Don’t kid yourself – God IS in supermarkets, gas stations, etc., etc., etc., ……..
  
  Report this comment
mensa141
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:28am
I keep wondering what part of “no” do people, particularly the Supreme Court, not understand. For those who can’t understand the English written language well focus on the “no” in the first sentence and the prohibiting of free exercise thereof. Additionally, I was always under the impression that the Supreme court did not make laws; congress did. So just why do we have the problems we have here?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

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- cykonas
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:55am
  Mensa, with all due respect you are missing the root problem. Congress hasn’t passed any laws prohibiting the free practice of religion in schools. The problem started with the establishment of the Department of Education. When they came into existence and started to provide large amounts of the funding to the public schools across the country, the regulators dictated that there couldn’t be prayer in schools if Federal funds were accepted by the local school. Various courts at all levels have been complicit with them.
  
  This is just one example of why we have to elect candidates who truly support small government. For the most part you will not find those candidates in either the Republican or the Democrat parties. As long as these big bureaucracies are allowed to exist we will continue to have these types of problems. And the real hell of it is, we don’t even get a vote on these people that are regulating every phase of our lives from not only the DOE, but the EPA, the Dept. of Commerce, the Department of Energy, et al. Peace.
  
  Report this comment
- floridareader
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:58am
  People do not take the time to read the Constitution and schools have pushed history lessons out of the classrooms. There is no “separation church and state” clause in the Constitution. But, again, since they do not teach history and too many people don’t even bother in reading the Constitution, Liberals can fool them easily. Those who say our funding fathers were free thinkers, secular men and even atheists, have not read Article VII of our Constitution where it invokes “OUR LORD”.
  
  Report this comment
- Winedude
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 3:42pm
  FloridaReader: Not sure how you would account for the following:
  
  “The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever
  from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with
  blood for centuries.”
  –James Madison
  
  “Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies.”
  - Thomas Jefferson
  
  “The Christian God is a being of terrific character — cruel, vindictive,
  capricious, and unjust.”
  – Thomas Jefferson
  
  “In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people.”
  - James Madison
  
  Individual prayer is still allowed in public schools. That should be more than enough. I’m not interested in your religious beliefs and I’m sure you have minimal, at best, interest in my lack thereof.
  
  After all: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
  Then he is not omnipotent.
  Is he able, but not willing?
  Then he is malevolent.
  Is he both able and willing?
  Then whence cometh evil?
  Is he neither able nor willing?
  Then why call him God?” Epicurus
  
  Thank you.
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:37pm
  Mensa, what right is being infringed? Public schools are agents of the State and bound by the establishment clause. They are not preventing the private prayers of students. So name what right is being infringed.
  
  Report this comment
- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:34am
  @ Winedude
  
  If the public homage of a people can ever be worthy the favorable regard of the Holy and Omniscient Being to whom it is addressed, it must be that in which those who join in it are guided only by their free choice, by the impulse of their hearts and the dictates of their consciences; and such a spectacle must be interesting to all Christian nations as proving that religion, that gift of Heaven for the good of man, freed from all coercive edicts, from that unhallowed connection with the powers of this world which corrupts religion into an instrument or an usurper of the policy of the state…Upon these principles and with these views the good people of the United States are invited, in conformity with the resolution aforesaid, to dedicate the day above named to the religious solemnities therein recommended.–James Madison
  
  Report this comment
- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:45am
  @ winedude
  
  I tremble for my nation when I remeber that God is just…that His justice cannot sleep forever.–Thomas Jefferson
  
  I will see your two founders (arguably among the “least” religious) and raise you a few more.
  
  “Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book…What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.”–John Adams
  In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars [religion and morality] of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens.–George Washinton
  To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.”–George Washinton
  “I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.”–Thomas Jefferson
  Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual–John Hancock
  “Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped. –Benjamin Franklin
  I conceive that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world that the rod of tyrants may be broken to pieces…and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period when the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be everywhere established–Samuel Adams
  
  Report this comment
- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:53am
  @All anti-Christian naysayers.
  
  Lets break down the first ammendment. 1) “Congress.” The first ammendment applies to Congress. If a school in Kansas wants to have PUBLIC prayer, they can do so. You’re an atheist? Fine. Don’t pray-just be respectful and quiet when we pray. 2) “Shall make no law.” A school policy of public prayer is not a law. It is a local policy that you suffer no legal penalties for should you decide not to participate. Don’t pray. Or pray to your god if you worship another. But this nation was founded by Christians upon Christian principles. 3) “Establishing a religion” No religion is “established” by praying…even by praying to Jesus Christ since there are many “Christian” religions. No one is saying you have to be a Christian to be an American or that being an American makes you a Christian. All this says is that America’s values are Christian values–a recognition of historical fact not a legal demogogue to force you to join a church. 4) “Nor prohibiting the FREE EXERCISE THEREOF” [emphasis added]. Rights are being trampled. This idea that religion has no place in the public arena is a rampant violation of Christian rights whose doctrine *insists* their religion affect all areas of their lives. Again, no one is insisting that an atheist become a Christian by holding public prayer but atheists are insisting that Christians violate their religious principles by being silent.
  
  Report this comment
- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 4:06am
  @all anti-Christian naysayers (continued)
  
  The purpose of the First Ammendment is first of all to recognize that religion is under the jurisdiction of God alone and that no government of men has the right or authoity or prohbit its exercise. But, as Christians, the Founders concern went beyond even that.
  
  1) Being an American does not mean you must become a Christian. God forbid this should happen because unrepentant people joining the Church led to a lot of problems in Roman Catholicism.
  2) No one wanted other religions to feel as though they were unwelcome. In fact, quite the contrary. Christianity, by its very nature of love for one’s neighbor, is inherently accepting of all peoples for we have no fear that the errors of other beliefs can stand in the light of scriptural truth. A free society such as the founders wanted would welcome other religions in the sense that America could act as a showcase of Christian values.
  3) Most importantly, the founders did not want people to think that being an American automatically made you a Christian. Being a Christian is a personal decision between you and Jesus Christ and the WORST thing a government can do is somehow impede that relationship.
  
  Report this comment
- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 4:12am
  @all the anti-Christian naysayers (final)
  
  If you don’t want to be Christian, fine. But that is not really the problem. The problem is that American values are distinctly Christian values and that is what bothers the atheist community. Atheists recognize the dicotic nature of sharing American values while disdaining the Book from which those values were derived. No one is saying any atheist must be a Christian to be an American. What we are saying is that even atheists during the Revolutionary era recognized and appreciated all the Christianity offered to the United States. Absent today is that same intellectual honesty that can’t conclude “I want to be an atheist” without distorting history, the Bible, our Founders’ character and the principles of liberty enshrined in the United States. No one is impeding your right to be an atheist. All we’re saying is don’t lie about Christians, our Founders or our country so you feel better about your decision.
  
  Report this comment
- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:15am
  III, . . . Which biblical “morals” are you refering to, specifically? Please site verses that correspond to our laws today.
  
  Report this comment
thegreatcarnac
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:28am
When we stupidly allowed in the third world, muslims, and the like with their odd, pagan religions,…we assigned ourselves to a dilemma. I am for prayer in schools…Christian prayer. We cannot pray to GOd and then have time for all the other mud-hole religions get their two-cents in. The only way to do it now is to either deport muslims and other religions (which I would do if I could) or assign a room for each religion to go to in the morning to have prayers. Assign muslims the broom closet.

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- Sosorryforyou
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:09am
  This is one of the most unAmerican statements I have ever read. Our Country was not only founded on the principle of freedom for all, but even has in it’s Constitution that everyone has the freedom to honor whichever religion they believe in and that our Country can not be ruled by one established religion. From your statement it is obvious that you either do not like or understand that part of our Constitution, and that you’re unwillingness to accept the differences of all Americans truly unAmerican and unPatriotic!
  
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- floridareader
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:35pm
  Thegreat, the big mistake was allow ourselves got tangled in the political correctness that has gone too far. Who ever comes to this country should fell free to practice her or his religion. The real problem: when politicians got their hands and twisted minds into the matter for their own benefit.
  
  Report this comment
- phillyatheist
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 3:01pm
  CARNAC – the last thing we need in this country is for views such as your to proliferate. if you have convinced even one person in this world that what you say is somehow of value, then you have done great evil in your life. i wish there was a hell for people like you to go to. you’re sick sick sick. get to a psychiatrist before it’s too late.
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:40pm
  thegreatcarnac
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:28am
  
  When we stupidly allowed in the third world, muslims, and the like with their odd, pagan religions,…we assigned ourselves to a dilemma. I am for prayer in schools…Christian prayer.
  _____________________
  Hence the reason why PUBLIC SCHOOLS are bound by the Establishment Clause and prevented from endorsing any one religion over any other.
  
  Report this comment
watashbuddyfriend
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:24am
Well, now, let’s see, you have confessed your SINS to God, right?
Now, you are in lock-step with God to proceed, right?
Of course, you already know Jesus Christ as your Personal Saviour, right? No?
Then how are you going to get to the point to leave your message?
BIBLE DOCTRINE! Do you know any?
You can pray any time anywhere without anyone knowing it, right?
Organized Prayer in Church, in public schools, really has no place, right? But, does not hurt anyone, right? No! Does not make any difference either, right?

So, why get a dialog going with the Media who has little, or no knowledge about God, especially know Jesus Christ, or anything about him?

COME EARLY LORD JESUS!

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cdn1979
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:09am
someone needs to clear up what prayer in school means. when i was in elementary school, we said the lords prayer every morning. I went to public school. This does not happen anymore and I do not think that it should. I do however feel that if someone wants to say the lords prayer in the morning, they should be able to without being punished. I just feel that it should not be forced upon everyone. If students choose to for a bible study group or religious study group, they should be able to, but students should not be mandated to join or participate in these groups. This way everybody wins. if you want to be religious in school you can. if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.

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- DOra Glasberg
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:20am
  They CAN say it.
  Just not out loud and in and organized group.
  SO the issue IS – why the OUT LOUD part is so important.
  
  Report this comment
BurntHills
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:30am
all states who reinstate School Prayer will have a huge inflow of Americans to live and bring strong solid businesses -and JOBS- there as they raise their children there.

no doubts, obama has divided this nation just totally, every category you can think of.

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- Sosorryforyou
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:50am
  Unless you are willing to be open minded, be careful what you ask for. In this wonderful Country of ours where no established religion shall rule the land, prayers from all religions must be allowed than, not just Christianity.
  
  Report this comment
- floridareader
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:38pm
  sosorry, you need to read well. Burnt did not mention Christians. We all need to the ONE Lord.
  
  Report this comment
Canada_Goose
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:25am
How would this work exactly? What specific religious prayer is the marathon man proposing?Christian, Muslim, Jewish or all three. How about Buddhist, Sikh or Hindu or how about Zoroastrianism, or my personal favorite Baha’i.
The same goes for bible study and religious ornamentation.

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- OhioRifleman
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:58am
  @ Canada Goose
  
  He is proposing that it be left up to the individual states and schools in question.
  
  Last I checked, the Freedom of Religion clause states the following: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
  
  First, let’s break this down into the two delineations of the mandate in the amendment:
  
  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”
  
  This, in the parlance of 18th Century English, really should be construed to mean that no legislation shall be written for or against religion, as well as the classic definition that Congress shall not mandate a religion for the nation.
  
  Second part:
  
  “…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
  
  This is the stumbling block that a lot of people just don’t understand. Freedom OF Religion does not mean freedom FROM religion. Banning the symbolism or expression of religion in public is, by technicality, a direct violation of the first amendment, as such a ban means that government has prohibited the free exercise of religion in some fashion or another. The only case where religion should be interfered with is in violations of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Just because you see a cross somewhere, or a star of david somewhere, does not challenge your life or liberty.
  
  Report this comment
- nevergofullpotato
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:40am
  What part of “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” do you people not understand?
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:52pm
  @OhioRifleman
  
  Nobody is banning an individual from expressing their religious beliefs in public, that is simply a lie of the right to scare the simpletons within their ranks. They are preventing a PUBLIC SCHOOL, a government entity, an agent of the State, which is bound through the incorporation clause of the 14th Amendment to the Establishment Clause of the First. The Establishment Clauses demands governments be neutral in matters of religion. A school pray by its nature excludes any member of other religions. Christians can not even agree to the text of the Lord’s Pray. A pray lead by a State employee can never not violate the First Amendment. Students are not prevented from saying a quite private prayer, nor are private schools prevented from having school prayer.
  
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Deckle
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:15am
I am totally for this stand. I pray every day for this. I believe the reason this nation is in such bad shape is we are seeing the generations that did not have prayer in schools. I hope this is a turning point!

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- phillyatheist
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 3:04pm
  more proof that prayer doesn’t work. you pray for this everyday, yet it will never come to pass. keep on wasting your time, it’s no skin off my nose.
  
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- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 4:19am
  @Philly
  
  If it is no skin off your nose–as so many atheists say–then why is public prayer is schools such a bad thing. If it is nothing but empty words offered to an empty room, what difference does it make to you if the *overwhelming majority* of Americans are not atheists AND favor prayer in public schools? Methinks it is skin off your nose and that’s why you hate Christians so much.
  
  Report this comment
Nepenthe
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:08am
Well he should be happy to know that prayer was never taken out of public schools. Unless of course he is looking for State mandated prayer led by a State representative, which any teacher, being an authority figure, would be. I fully agree that students should be allowed to give prayers at any event so long as no student is punished for not participating, no student is forbidden from offering prayers to their particular religion, and each student is given equal opportunity.

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- OhioRifleman
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:02am
  @ Nepenthe
  
  Good theoretical answer.
  
  Welcome to the real world. Your theory is not in practice anywhere. If a student is caught praying, even alone, with no outside assistance or action by school personnel or resources, he or she is still punished for it. Happens a helluva lot more than you would ever see on the news.
  
  As I said, good theoretical answer, but it is not practiced.
  
  Report this comment
- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:52am
  Ohio, . . . . please site the source. I would be very interested to see ANY kid that “gets in trouble for individually praying”, . . . if it wasn’t disruptive to a class.
  
  Report this comment
- OhioRifleman
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 6:31pm
  @ Deavon
  
  This one might count as mildly disruptive, but hardly to the degree that his diploma should be suspended. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-23/news/chi-high-school-student-punished-for-tebowing-20120523_1_graduation-ceremony-diploma-wptv
  
  Here’s one that had no disruption whatsoever and is going to court: http://www.higheredmorning.com/punished-for-praying-students-sue-college
  
  This one is particularly onerous, and shows some severe bias on the part of the teacher involved: http://www.christianpost.com/news/calif-student-punished-for-saying-bless-you-56778/
  
  My apologies, but as I said above, the major news outlets don’t run these kinds of stories. In their parlance, it isn’t ‘newsworthy’, but in reality calling attention to assaults on religion is not politically correct and may hurt their business model.
  
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- OhioRifleman
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 6:33pm
  @ Deavon
  
  I’ve tried posting a reply three times, it has not shown up. Not sure where to go from here. I had three good links to substantiate my claims, as well as personal eyes-on evidence.
  
  Report this comment
- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 6:47pm
  They came through, Ohio. I hope these are taken care of. No student should be punished SOLELY for practicing his religion. If it isn’t being disruptive, there should be no grounds for punishment.
  
  Report this comment
EqualJustice
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:38am
Most states have prayer allowed in school before classes begin, even it it is a momnet of silent prayer. It is a state’s rights issue and there should not be a federal mandate to BAN prayer! I think we NEED a few prayers!

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smerg
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:31am
“I’m not looking for teachers to have prayer every day in the classroom, but I do think at special ceremonies — graduation, football games and the like, that calling on our creator is a good idea,” he told CNN.

Good, because I can not imagine the prayers being espoused in front of our kids by our Wisconsin union teachers. You know, the ones who demonstrated their fine behaviors at our state’s capital. Well, the problem is more than prayers in schools its also the curriculum. The social engineering programs, the protest government field trips to the capital, etc.

Simply supporting prayers at the ballgames is hardly a display of an understanding of the problems of our schools. This is a state local issue also and should not concern the federal government politicians which is another display of a lack of understanding of our politicians.

God have mercy on us as a nation.

Have a blessed day.

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vaman
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:24am
It will be great to teach children about Satanism in school and the public forum. Thankfully our 1st Amendment protects my right to do so and nothing should trump the 1st Amendment. I have also started my own religion, where in, my followers pray to cartoon characters. I demand the right to pray with children in school about the cartoon characters!! The constitution says nothing about stopping me, so be ready.

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- hi
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:32am
  I am Christian and I agree with you. Do we really want the Muslims to interrupt school and pray to Mecca 5 times a day? The Muslims will have to do this in their own private schools, not the state funded ones. Or do you want the Muslims to do anything they want like most libs, just not Christians?
  
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soybomb315_II
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:16am
thats fine to make it a state issue but I would not be rooting for it in my state because our school leaders are not christian and the teachers are hellbent on indoctrinating. If we get to the point where almost everyone is christian, like it used to be, then we can talk about having public prayer in government schools.

If the majority of the school is atheist, would you be OK with them having an atheist proclamation at the beginning of every day?

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- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:54am
  Schools are not a place to promote agendas. They are for learning, only.
  
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NineteenEighty4
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:49am
As a religious person myself, I agree with Paul Ryan. Allah should be praised in all schools, five times a day. If only there were some other place religious people like myself could go to praise Allah. Sadly, there is none. If we aren’t teaching religion in school, what’s the point? In fact, get rid of school. Kids don’t need science, math or history. Faith will be our guide. Through Allah, all things are possible. Allah bless America.

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- vaman
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:19am
  I just fell to my knees in prayer for your idea. All jokes aside, well done and your point is clearly made.
  
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- Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:08am
  The problem isn’t prayer…the problem is public schools. As soon as we all “kick in” then we get all of the POV’s. Furthermore, it’s not like they do a good job anyway. Each generation is dumber than the next despite the amount of money we throw at it. If we must fund it, then use vouchers. I’d say it should just be laissez faire though.
  
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Shiroi Raion
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:48am
I agree with Paul Ryan. 1st amendment says “Congress shall not establish a religion.” I’m fairly certain that none of the Founding Fathers said, “Schools can teach anything from ‘I Have 2 Mommies and My Daddy is My Pet Donkey’ to ‘Evolution: From the Chaos of the Primordial Mud Puddle to the Hanuman the Demon-Fighting Monkey God’ but NO CHRISTIANITY.”

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PorkPIG
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:44am
I dont understand the issue here ? In my High school those who wished to pray had a group that would meet before school every day and any other occasion . None complained because it wasn’t shoved down anyone’s throat , and the option for god was provided in a public school . Seems simple enough to me . I think anyone who would complain about this kinda of prayer is a attention whore looking for a reason to cause them self attention .

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- soybomb315_II
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:10am
  seems like everyone wants the government to fight their battles for them….
  
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- Sosorryforyou
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:46am
  You’re right. Most public high schools in the Nation have religious clubs of all kinds that can meet before and after school, just not during school hours. If you are really interested in praying at school, you can still do so in the these clubs without requiring everyone in the classroom to say a prayer that may be against his or her own religious tradition. Seems like a fair and balanced approach to this issue.
  
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- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:52am
  I agree with each of your comments here.
  
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- DOra Glasberg
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:22am
  It’s all about indoctrination.
  “Christians” lie a lot.
  
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Individualism
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:41am
nobody cares

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palerider54
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:40am
Until we start to teach our youth about God, we will continue to decline. We will continue to see violence and killings that only animals are capable of.

After all, if you keep God out of the schools and teach the false THEORY about evolution, that we are simply glorified animals with no creator, no soul, how can you expect our children to NOT act like animals.

We had a 15 yr old girl come forward last Sunday and accept the Lord as her Savior, that is the good news. The sad news is after talking with her after the service, she had never heard any of the Bible stories about Noah, King David, Goliath, Moses, NOTHING. Had never opened a Bible until that day.

Check out this web site about the Communists goals for taking over the US and see how close they are.

1. http://rense.com/general32/americ.htm

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- DeavonReye
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:51am
  A few points:
  
  You are free to teach your kid all about your specific religion all you want, . . . as is your church. Why do you think that a school somehow has more pull in this area. IF something is true and has merrit, it will be true regardless of location, right?
  
  Why do you think that coming to the understanding that we ARE an animal species. . . why that would make anyone suddenly “behave like some other animal”? We AREN’T like other animals because we progressed to the level we are at now. Are we perfect? No. Do we need to grow further? Absolutely. But knowing that I am an animal species doesn’t make me behave like one.
  
  Evolutionary theory isn’t false. There are many examples. You just need to find sources outside of apologetic speakers like Ham or Hovind.
  
  The stories about Noah, Goliath, Moses, Samson, etc. are REASONS [amongst many MANY others] I stopped being a christian. I was good until I started to dig deeper into the bible and journal what I was finding there [at the request of church leadership when I was uncertain about a few aspects of the religion]. Well, that and never having ANY experience even remotely akin to “a relationship with a divine being”. Just doing what other PEOPLE told me to do [or rather, what to believe]. That doesn’t cut it. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
  
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- DOra Glasberg
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 5:54pm
  Whose god?
  
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marybethelizabeth
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:36am
Paul Ryan is not for prayer in public schools.
Quoting the article:

“I’m not looking for teachers to have prayer every day in the classroom,”

That is not supporting prayer in public schools.

TheBlaze is not the truth.

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- RiseAboveThem
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:50am
  Please go and post on the Huffington Post.
  
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- marybethelizabeth
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:54am
  Sorry but I don’t read that trash, not even on AOL.
  
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- Shiroi Raion
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:00am
  You must be a Democrat… When a Conservative says he supports something, that doesn’t mean he will mandate it. When someone says they support repealing marijuana laws, they don’t mean you must smoke it… although it appears you didn’t get that message. That is anti-freedom Progressive thinking.
  
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- marybethelizabeth
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 8:08am
  It’s hard to make the argument that Ryan is a conservative, but even if he was, he didn’t say he supported prayer in public schools.
  
  He say’s he supports an invocation before graduation and such things.
  
  Conservatives generally support more restrictive behavior, not less, so all that stuff about how I must be a Democrat is idiotic. I didn’t write about requiring anything.
  
  I think it’s rude of you, almost blasphemous, to equate prayer with illegal drug use.
  
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invisible
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:34am
It constantly amazes me that the people that want the word “God” or any reference to our creator torn out of our vernacular. If these hethenistic people DON’T believe HE exists, what are they worried about? The repulsion to the word GOD makes them furious – but the filth and warped thinking all over the world doesn’t bother them a bit. All I ask is that they just imagine if He does exist – what would their attitude be? Would it change? I am constantly uinundated with things on t.v. that I disagree with, commercials that are offensive, etc. and my only feeling is either to change channels or pray for them. I’m no holy roller by any means but I’d rather follow our founding fathers principals than the Sodom and Gomorrah I see around me today.

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- marybethelizabeth
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:53am
  What you wrote doesn’t make sense.
  Atheism doesn’t mean supporting “filth and warped thinking”
  That’s not a logical progression of facts.
  Atheists aren’t made furious by the mention of God. Your the one who is furious.
  Belief in God has nothing to do with television programming.
  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were not godless. They worshipped other gods than the Hebrew God.
  
  The sin of Sodom is the sin of Ryan/Romney:
  
  “The Mishnah explains Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin was related to property. According to rabbinic tradition, the Sodomites perceived what was theirs as theirs, and what was yours, is yours.
  
  A life led by this principal tends to care less and less about his neighbor. This attitude leads one towards a lack of compassion, and an extreme sense of selfishness. ” http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/sodom-and-gomorrah.html
  
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- III_percenter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:48pm
  @Mary
  
  It is clear from the Biblical text that the sins of Sodom were many, including the desire to homosexually rape the two angels that visited lot. Homosexuality is an extreme example of sin though. Other, more socially palatable sins would have preceded it: injustice, greed, lust etc. Untimately, the Bible teaches that Sodom was a thoroughly wicked society in that there were not even 10 people in the city who were righteous. That is not the sin of Romney/Ryan but of the whole of the United States. It strikes me as the most blatant hypocrisy that trying to keep the money I have earned should be called greed but demanding my money be taken and given to someone else should be called “charity.”
  
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soybomb315_II
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:31am
The only question i have is; Who will be in charge of these prayers? The principle?

If the teachers are mostly union, what are the chances they think like you? Actually, i dont want those government employees leading my kid in prayer – who knows what kind of socialist ideology they will push

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misteryuck
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:27am
To the Democratic party, GOD is not GOD in the traditional sense…
The only god that truly exists to them is Government.

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teddrunk
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:19am
Democrats can’t allow that. The Democratic Party is the female party. Women haven’t been happy with God since Eve.

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- Shiroi Raion
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:32am
  Ted LOL I was laughing so hard I was crying! I read that and thought that it sounds like something from “South Park.” I love when people toss in a bit of humor now and then.
  
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- UnsubtleSatire
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 7:56am
  1 Timothy 2:12 – I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
  
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- The_Cabrito_Goat
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 2:42pm
  Please try to understand the context of that line.
  
  To understand that verse, we must understand the situation in which Timothy worked. In first-century Jewish culture, women were not allowed to study. When Paul said that women should learn in quietness and full submission, he was offering them an amazing new opportunity. Paul did not want the Ephesian women to teach because they didn’t yet have enough knowledge or experience.
  
  The Ephesian church had a particular problem with false teachers. Evidently, the women were especially susceptible to the false teachings (2 Timothy 3:1-9), because they did not yet have enough Biblical knowledge to discern the truth. In addition, some women were apparently flaunting their new-found Christian freedom by wearing inappropriate clothing (1 Timothy 2:9). Paul was telling Timothy not to put anyone (in this case, women) into a position of leadership who was not yet mature in the faith (1 Timothy 3:6).
  
  The same principle applies to churches today.
  
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