The state legislature in Illinois approved a measure yesterday that requires all public schools in the state to begin the day with a moment of silence, overriding Governor Rod Blagojevich's veto of the measure. Students are supposed to use the time for whatever religious observance they'd like, or to just sit there quietly. While teachers and students in the state have had the option of taking a moment for the past five years, now it's mandated. Blagojevich says it blurs the line of separation between church and state, and wanted to continue with the voluntary measure. "I believe this is the right balance between the principles echoed in our constitution, and our deeply held desire to practice our faith," he wrote in August. "As a parent, I am working with my wife to raise our children to respect prayer and to pray because they want to pray -- not because they are required to."
It's an interesting case, because it's not requiring students to pray. Well, not exactly. While they're not mandating that the kids pray to any particular god, they are requiring religious observation (even if it's the religion of your choosing) in schools. This is dangerous for precisely the reasons we separate the two in the first place. Kids who don't pray, or whose religious observation might seem weird to other kids, will be ostracized. And teachers are role models, and having them take part in this as classroom leaders will undoubtedly influence children.
It takes me back to my basketball team at my public high school, where the team prayed with the coach before every game. Sure, I could have opted out, or bitten the heads off chickens off to the side, or just sat quietly. But it was high school. The last thing I wanted was to be that kid who didn't pray like everyone else. And while now I'm pretty confident that was unconstitutional, it does help me envision how a mandatory "moment of silence" will play out. And what happens if schools or teachers don't take time out for this, or if a student makes a case for speaking aloud in tongues as a requirement of observing their religion? Of if a student refuses to participate at all -- can you punish him or her?
If I were religious, this would probably annoy me even more; mandating observance of your faith seems pretty contrary to the idea of faith. Shouldn't it be a personal choice, made by individuals or families, practiced on your own time? And if you feel that you need to observe your religion in school, you can go to a religious school. But I guess I'm forgetting just what sort of religious person would want to pass this law in the first place.
--Kate Sheppard
