TRI In The News
Will Everyone Be Free to Pray?
From One News Now
Original article available here
The possibility of Muslim students being allowed to pray during school hours has some parents up in arms.
Though nobody is certain what the policy will be exactly, some parents have been unhappy to learn that Muslim students in the West Shore School District in Pennsylvania might be allowed to pray during the school day. But John Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute says it should not be an issue, as long as everyone is treated the same.
"Whether it's a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, a Muslim -- if it's required by their faith, they should be able to do it in a public school," he contends. "It just has to be evenhanded. There are certain things that certain faiths require, and the schools should respect that."
Officials are not saying much about the situation, or whether they are even considering allowing student to leave class for prayer. Whitehead suggests the reason for the silence is because the administration is confused.
"I have run into very few teachers or especially higher-up principals and superintendents who know anything about the First Amendment," he shares. "They just heard about the so-called 'separation of church and state.'"
The U.S. Department of Education has said that schools may excuse students from class to remove significant burden on religious exercise, when doing so would not impose material burdens on other students.
