Yes, of course it should. But it should neither be promoted nor discouraged by anyone in an official capacity.

It is legal to pray in public areas, as many have already said, thats not the issue. I don't think there's a need for a moment of silence or a school-led prayer at the beginning of the school day. If a student feels the need to pray before school, then that can be accomplished during their morning preparations. To me, prayer is a personal issue, and best left out of the educational system altogether.

School prayer should not be mandatory, but it certainly should be allowed. At my school, we have a moment of silence each day. That is perfectly fine by me. I pray during that time- I pray for our brave soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere, risking their lives for our country. I pray for the safety of my mother, my family, and my friends. What do other people do during that one moment of silence? I don't care. They can lay their head down and sleep if they prefer. That is their right, just as it is my right to say a silent prayer. I believe that it is my right to say it out loud as well. However, the school itself shall not recite a prayer out loud, because it is a federal facility, and the federal government shall not endorse any specific religion, but the federal government also shall not prevent me from exercising my right to freedom of religion and expression. Out of respect for others, I recite the prayer silently. And I appreciate those who don't follow His word remaining quiet during that Moment of Silence. It shows that we can all respect each others' beliefs, and not force those beliefs on our peers.

No, it should not be legal to pray in schools because making prayer legal in public schools would be in effect force feeding Christianity on everyone. Hard as it may be to realize not everybody in this country is Christian. We have Jews, Buddhists and people who are Islam, and we even have agnostics and atheists! Yikes!

It ain't broke, we don't need to fix it. We already have an admirable compromise worked out with the moment of silence which is widely used. It IS legal to pray in a public place--it just is not legal for an authority to LEAD others in a prayer, for that would explicitly violate the First Amendment. If I were a Hindu, I wouldn't want to be part of a class that prays to Jesus Christ to deliver me from Hell. Would Christians want to be led in a prayer to Krishna, and punished or ostracized for not going along with it?

This issue is at the heart of the so-called culture war. I don't believe that the government has any right to be influencing the religious behavior of other people. Freedom of Religion is a restriction on government action; it's not about imposing standards on others. I understand that atheists and agnostics may be uncomfortable in public demonstrations of faith, but I believe that we as a society should be mature enough to respect other peoples faiths. When you restrict one's right to pray, then you're restrict their right to free speech and religion. If people approve of a monument to the ten commandments, then they should be allowed to post it. The reasoning behind freedom of religion is to prevent the state from sanctioning any particular church. Posting the ten commandments isn't sanctioning any religion; those words are part of the religious heritage of three faiths. Those are guides to live life by. I believe that there are elements within our society that want to see God taken out completely from the public square. We're setting ourselves up for a dangerous precedent here because this is banning peoples right to express themselves; when you take that away, the government can ban whatever speech it wants. It's not about religion, its about our right to free speech, religion, and yes even assembly. The people in the ACLU who say they are advocates of free speech are actually restricting it.

I seem to recall something about the seperation of church and state. Oh, yeah, that US document thingy, whatever. :) Seriously, people should not be allowed to pray in schools, because the school is a state-controlled organization. Public places are a different matter, since they are public, people should be allowed to do what they want (as long as its not illegal, immoral or crude).

Would that allow for praying to Satan? If you were to allow it at all then I feel all religions and their practices no matter how contrary they may be to others beliefs should be included. There's the problem.

Freedom of religion is not a privelidge, It is a right.

Of course. As long as it's not disruptive, mandatory or sponsered by the school or government, prayer in public areas is a good thing. Is it not allowed now? I thought the issues were only about disruption and being mandatory, not about the legality of prayer in public.

It should be legal as long as it isn't being forced on anyone or have any other negative effects.

PBeavr, Solenoid, and several others seem to have hit the nail right on the head. Of course, it should be legal to pray in public! Is this not one of the very rights promised in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?!

It is already legal to pray in public areas, even in public schools. These prayers can not be lead by officials. Each to their own prayer, provided this is not disruptive, who cares?

I have no problem with it. Just don't enforce it on me.

You should be allowed to pray whenever you want. No one should say you can't. Anymore than someone should be forced to pray if they do NOT want to. It is a matter of choice. I for one have said a silent prayer for someone when I pass a bad looking accident. Or on other occasions. NO one can stop me from praying If I want to.

Of course it should. That's why people came to America to settle in the first place; to be able to do just that without anyone stopping them! Deny the truth all you want folks, but that's how it is.

The real question should be: should the government own property? Answer: No. eliminating government ownership of property allows for individual citizens and property owners to make their own decisions on issues like these with no confusion whatsoever. As far as prayer on properties considered public, I say yes. The public means EVERYONE, doesn't it? Therefore, one person is not to enforce their beliefs over another on peoperty that everyone owns. I can pray, you can complain, and we can all agree to disagree... it's our property, after all.

Completely agree with the well put posts of SolenoidDH and PBeavr. I don't remember praying much back when. But I do now when and wherever the mood strikes - I'd like to see someone try and stop me!

I totally agree with PBeavr...great point...everyone else wants to e hear and have their culture and beliefs noticed, but prayer is not allowed, they can't have their culture? That is such a hipocrisy.

Sure, people should be able to pray wherever and whenever they want. Just so long as they don't FORCE anyone to do it if they don't want to, I don't care.

I prayed in school all the time... and it never helped my French grade. Why all the fuss about this? If a kid wants to pray, let them. If they want to sit there and meditate until they levitate, let them. If they want to waste prayer time writing notes or sleeping, well, what can you expect?