2014 archive

The Rude One is distressed by the Supreme Court’s recent sidestep closer to theocracy and argues that public prayer is always coercive. He recalls what happened when he was a young ‘un and sat down for a little-last minute studying during the “voluntary moment of silent prayer” mandated by his school.

A snippet:

She (the teacher–ed.) explained that it was disrespectful for him to sit down while everyone was praying. “But I thought it was voluntary,” he said. It is, she said, but even so, it’s just good manners to stay on his feet. If he had thought that causing trouble was worth the effort, he might have responded, “So it’s not voluntary . . . .”

In other words, he was coerced into participating, whether he liked it or not.

Find out why he finds this story worth telling at the link.

In related news, the resident curmudgeon of my local rag finds the ruling quite okay, provided that

Still, it’s worth remembering that there’s a difference between what’s legal and what’s polite. It is rude – some would say downright un-Christian – to use an opening prayer to make others squirm in discomfort.

But, really now, unleashing your private beliefs and practices on others who are forced to just take it is inherently obnoxious, isn’t it? That is what those who would pray loudly in the public square wish to do.

The persons who most loudly demand prayer at public functions, and particularly prayer in schools, want to make people squirm. At the least, they see forcing their prayers on unbelievers as a form of proselytizing and indoctrinating them; at worst, they are the religious variant of gun nuts who parade around the Little League park with assault weapons just because they can.

Matthew 6:5.

Afterthought:

In Fundamentalist Christian lingo, forcing one’s beliefs on those who are not interested is called witnessing for the faith.