School Moment-Of-Silence Law Ruled Unconstitutional

A federal judge has ruled unconstitutional a law passed by the Illinois legislature requiring the state's schools to require a moment of prayer or reflection on the day's activities.

U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman ruled Wednesday the law crosses the line separating church and state under the Constitution.

He says in his ruling that the statute is a "subtle effort" to force students at "impressionable ages" to think about religion.

The ruling came in a suit designed to erase the Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act. It was filed by talk show host Rob Sherman, an outspoken atheist, and his daughter, Dawn, a student at Buffalo Grove High School.

Comments

[Wittgenstein]

05:12 PM on 02/09/2009

Religion or prayer has no place in public school. Indeed, it is child abuse to teach children that there is a god, or a heaven and hell. If adults choose to believe this superstitious non-sense than so be it. But to fill a child's mind with such ignorance is simply wrong.

[JJennifer]

05:08 PM on 01/23/2009

We have freedom of speech in America and freedom of religion. Kids should be allowed to pray in school if they like, anyone who doesn't like it doesn't have to do it themselves.

[CosgroveWatt]

03:22 PM on 02/09/2009

Wow. Point completely missed. Try again.

[JJennifer]

05:04 PM on 01/23/2009

There is no such thing as separation of church and state, the founding fathers did not want a national church to be founded, they did not want a church of America like the church of England. The Queen is the head of the church of England. Our founding fathers didn't want that. I imagine with the taking of God out of our schools, we can now concentrate on the Messiah Obama instead.

[CosgroveWatt]

03:28 PM on 02/09/2009

You act as though the founding fathers (or do you mean the framers?) were one unified voice. Please read your history. Thomas Jefferson certainly did believe in a separation of church and state. Others did not agree on this issue as well as abolishing slavery. What's your point?

[Dick214]

03:07 PM on 02/12/2009

You are quite correct! Adams, Jefferson, Madison were what were at the time called Deists, which is to say they believed in the possibility of a creator deity who, after creating the universe takes no further interest in its affairs, let alone the petty affairs on this insignificant planet.

Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of astronomy would be hard put to sustain any of the traditional religious faiths. If there were a "God" he/she/it couldn't find us.

Deists of today would rank amongst agnostics. The Christians are so perversely dishonest that they even allude to a fraudulent painting of Washington kneeling in prayer as evidence that he was a praying man. This painting was done long after Washington's death and has no historical provenance.

Franklin was distinctly an atheist and a true son of the European enlightenment which, sadly, never quite made the passage to the "new" world.

DH

[motu]

02:43 PM on 01/22/2009

good... enough bs

[JohnFromCensornati]

02:16 PM on 01/22/2009

Good. Let the "believers" brainwash their kids at home and at church. Kids should learn about facts in school. 2 X 2 = 4. "I don't know" does not equal god.

[weatherwaxx]

12:29 AM on 01/22/2009

Good! If parents want to instruct their kids in religious observance, that belongs in the home. Do they stop class so Muslim boys can face Mecca? Do they give Hindu and Buddhist kids time out for meditation?

Thomas Jefferson: "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes Dec. 6, 1813.

[Eric8869]

01:05 PM on 01/22/2009

Exactly - they want prayer in school but only Christian prayer.

I say we call their bluff and have all the day taken over by prayers of all religions on the planet and see what they think of that.

[jood42]

11:41 PM on 01/21/2009

This is great news.

[Nicole London]

10:24 PM on 01/21/2009

Thank God!

[hart444]

08:15 PM on 01/21/2009

Like the bumper sticker says: "Don't pray in my school and I won't think in your church."

[codesuidae]

07:07 PM on 01/21/2009

Huh. As an atheist this seems like an overreaction.

I'd rather they had the option to sit quietly for a few moments then be required to stand up and chant the pledge.

[ButImNotSureAboutU]

07:19 PM on 01/21/2009

not an overreaction at all; dig a little deeper into who pushed this through and why it was passed. You want to pray or have a moment of silence, do it on your own time. This was a backdoor attempt to push religion on students at school.

[nomobull]

07:51 PM on 01/21/2009

in what way

[seppoyank]

05:27 AM on 01/22/2009

As a second generation atheist and the child of an Illinois public school teacher with 25 years of experience, let me explain.

Firstly, the moment of silence did not replace the pledge, it was in addition to it.

Secondly, one problem, as my mother was only too happy to discuss, rests in the fact of religious teachers. While most have no problem separating their job from religion (it has been the rule in schools for quite some time now), imagine if you will a religious teacher observing her class in their moment of silence. She realizes that little Jessie doesn't ever fold her hands in prayer. She begins to make assumptions about the child's life. Eventually she begins treating the child differently.

As a child, I was derided by more than one friend's parents or relatives for honestly answering the question "where do you go to church."

I am very, very grateful that there was no way for my teachers growing up to know about my non-religious upbringing.

This law was a joke put forth by pathetic politicians pandering to their right wing constituents.

Additionally, the law was written in such a way that the individual schools or teachers themselves could be held liable in court. My mom's school cut it the instant the lawyers dug that out. Nothing like consistency in school.

[Eric8869]

07:07 PM on 01/21/2009

The religious right in this country will NOT REST until their religious beliefs are put into law in this country.

Everyone should join AMERICANS UNITED FOR THE SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.

http://www.au.org/site/PageServer

[RavenWest]

06:41 PM on 01/21/2009

good news