This clause states Congress cannot make any laws establishing religion. ISSUE Does the reading of a nondenominational prayer at the start of a school day in a public school violate the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment? HOLDING Yes, school-sponsored prayed does violate student’s First Amendment rights under the Establishment of…
Having prayers in schools has been a subject to discussion as there are some people who think having prayer in schools is against the constitution. As children are too young to distinguish right and wrong, and they have no idea about religion, exposing them to religious matters and prayer is controversial. One of the articles that favors having prayer in schools is “We Need More Prayer” that is written by Armstrong Williams. Also, one of the articles that discusses against having prayer in schools is “How Can School Prayer Possibly Hurt? Here’s How,” written by USA Today.…
In Gene Johnson’s “High School Football Coach Who Refused to Stop Praying Placed on Paid Leave,” he tells the story of a football coach in Washington who has led prayers before and after the game with whoever wanted to join. Despite warnings from district officials to stop the public display of religion, he continued to pray. The district’s cause for placing Coach Kennedy on paid leave was that praying on the field violated, “federal and state constitutional rights” although Kennedy’s prayers were completely voluntary. Coach Kennedy’s firing is a perfect example of the problem of religion in sports. For the kids who volunteered to be a part of the prayers are now out on thanking the Lord with their teammates.…
On August 18, 1983, Officer Patrick Anderson was off-duty when he was approached by a man named Francis Connelly in Denver, Colorado. Connelly admitted to Anderson, without any prompting, that he had murdered someone and he needed to talk about it. Anderson read Connelly the Miranda rights and asked him if he understood theses rights. Connelly understood the rights, but he still wanted to talk about the murder. Anderson was surprised that Connelly was still willing to confess to the crime, so he asked if he was on drugs or alcohol.…
Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause is imperative in the American Constitution for the limits and the scope of the power of the Federal government to instigate regulations in America’s economic activities to stem from it. Based on its permissive and broad interpretation, a vast range of activities can be regulated. For instance credit transactions, federal crimes, transfer of electronic funds, consumer warranties, and unfair practices in trade, trademarks, environmental protection, securities, among others (Mann and Roberts 69). The eighth section of the first article in the clause provides the federal government with a prolific and an extensive source of power in the regulation of America’s economy.…
The 9th Amendment simply states that rights may be given to citizens of the United States even if they are not explicitly afforded in the Constitution. The only case I could find relating to the 9th Amendment was Griswold v. Connecticut. This case is only loosely related though because the majority opinion, written by Justice Douglas, mentions the 9th Amendment but does not relay on it for the rationale. Justice Goldberg in his concurring opinion, expounds greatly on the meaning, past history and James Madison’s intentions in including the 9th Amendment in the Constitution.…
The amendment I chose is the 13th amendment. It states that all slavery and involuntary servitude shall be abolished, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was ratified on October 6th of 1865. Before the 13th amendment was passed the slave population grew to almost 4 million people in 1861. African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation.…
It is a completely formal publication written for the purpose of explaining the history of conflicts concerning religion in school and the rights that students, parents, and teachers have regarding the issue. The writer appeals to ethos and establishes credibility prior to the audience reading the article because the Pew Research Center is a well-known and trusted source. The writer also appeals to logos by including statistical information such as the quote, “According to an August 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center, more than two-thirds of Americans (69%) agree with the notion that ‘liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the schools and the government’” (Lupu et al para. 4). The article also contains many facts relating to Supreme Court rulings, such as “In Engel v.Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court held that the Establishment Clause prohibited the recitation of a school-sponsored prayer in public schools” (para. 9).…
I think the Constitution should be flexible and that the United States Supreme Court should have the power to change laws that no longer reflect societal norms and that are deemed unconstitutional. The flexibility in the constitution allows the government to adapt to changing needs of the society in the future. Many people like James Madison believe that the Constitution should not be altered or fixed but rather followed the same way it was written. On the other hand, many Americans like Thomas Jefferson think that each generation should decide what the constitution should be governed. How would people feel when the structure was rigid as a rock, or our fundamental rights were violated due to the law.…
The rights in America are always being altered. Since 1787 there have been twenty-seven ratified amendments to the Constitution, which is an infinitesimal number when comparing it to the new state laws and the way the amendments of the Constitution have been understood and justified. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were part of a more egalitarian legal framework. However, even after these amendments, state laws and even federal laws attempted to interpret the amendments in a way that took away rights depending on skin color. For example, the Plessy v. Ferguson case upheld the constitutionality of segregation under the separate but equal doctrine.…
Justification It’s been over 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled in outlawing school sponsored prayer. When it comes to religion, public schools have to abide to two legal…
John Stuart Mills’ liberty principle states that the only justified use of force from a state is to prevent one individual from harming another. Unlike other views of how the state should wield power, such as paternalism, Mills states that protecting an individual from themselves is not an adequate justification for state intervention. As a follower of Jeremy Bentham, Mills attempted to justify his liberty principle with utilitarianism, rather than a natural rights justification, essentially stating that when a government takes the stance of protecting only negative liberties, since people know themselves best, creativity will flourish which in turn will maximize the utility of society overall. In order to distinguish the liberty principle…
Should Religion be Required in Public Schools? For at least 20 years, religion in schools has been the center of every debate. Whether praying during a graduation ceremony or just simply praying to god for help on a test. The First Amendment made to separate the activities of church and state; religious or nonreligious.…
Over the years, there has been a major conversational issue in the United States today about whether prayer should or should not be allowed in public schools. Prayer has already been banned in various numbers of public schools across the country. Many people have different religious views on this issue, but someone else’s religious view should not determine what someone else can do. The First Amendment states “freedom of religion”, so why can children not have this right in public school? There are plenty of different religions.…
Apat Arok The issue of religion in sport effects many athletes of different religions across the world. There are incidences where an athlete’s participation and involvement in sport is affected by their religion, often in a negative way. Religious athletes often use their religion to educate people on the way they choose to live and are seen to be role models by people of the same faith. Though there are many that disagree with different religion which often beings up issues of discrimination and vilification within sport. Incidences where religion in sport has become an issue is when the cultural expectations of sport often collide with religious values and beliefs.…