My 90 year old parents said they never had prayer in their schools

[Quixote1818]

Wasn't that just something they had in southern states? I did a quick search on Google but didn't see anything right off hand. For anyone around before teacher lead prayer in school was outlawed in 1963, what was your experience?

By the way. My Dad grew up in Nevada and my Mom lived in a number of states growing up including MT, CO, ND, WI, AZ etc.

By the way! There is still plenty of prayer in schools today, right before every test.


Editing to add this:

Haven't Public Schools Always Had Prayer?
At the time the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 1962 and 1963 decrees against school-sponsored prayers and bible-reading, it is estimated religious observances were unknown in about half of the nation's public schools.

https://ffrf.org/outreach/item/14029-prayer-in-public-school

[CatMor]

1. I never had prayer in school in NY....

we had religious instruction off school grounds.

[phylny]

24. Same here, I'm from New York, but evidently in Virginia, where I live now,

they prayed and also used Bible versus in instruction, according to people I know who have lived here. Go figure.

[Yupster]

38. We had prayer in NYC school

Very early grade, must have been 1st or 2nd grade. We had a prayer, snack and then teacher turned off light for a few minutes and everyone put head on desk to rest. Looking back kind of weird but it was every day. Early 60's.

[CatMor]

39. I'm surprised that occurred in NYC.

[Yupster]

40. It was early 1960's

Last edited Tue Feb 20, 2018, 02:11 AM - Edit history (1)

because I'm old.

On edit, I put it was early 1060. Yes, I went to first grade right before those damned Normans came and killed poor King Harold. I'm old but not that old.

[Mariana]

2. They didn't in my parents' schools, either.

The idea that kids aren't allowed to pray in school is a right-wing lie, anyway. They can pray if they want to. What they can't do is force or pressure anyone else to participate in it or to listen to them, and they can't disrupt class with it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I never saw it in Minnesota in the 50s and early '60s.

[fleur-de-lisa]

4. I grew up in Mississippi (60s and 70s)

and we never prayed in school. We said the Pledge of Allegiance, but there was no praying.

[fleur-de-lisa]

7. On second thought . . .

I played sports. Athletes prayed that no one was injured before games, but that was it. Short, simple little prayer and it wasn't mandatory.

[brewens]

12. That pre-game prayer before football only was the only thing I remember from the 70's

in Idaho. I don't remember anyone objecting. I suppose I felt like it couldn't hurt. I sure didn't want anyone injured.

[world wide wally]

5. Never had it in Chicago public schools either

[hedda_foil]

31. Right. We never had prayer in Chicago public schools.

[onethatcares]

6. grew up in PA, 50s thru the 60s

no prayer in public school then although if you went to parochial school it was mandatory.

[maveric]

8. First and second grade. 1963-65.

They made say the Protestant Version of the Lord’s Prayer. Lawrence MA, where 95% of the students were Roman Catholic. The teacher would recite the prayer and we all would stop after “... deliver us from evil”. Funny.

[Yonnie3]

9. No scheduled prayers

In the mid 50s through mid 60s in Tidewater Virginia.

I do recall prayers being read at some assemblies and them being blended with with anticommunist and patriotic rhetoric.

[maveric]

10. First and second grade. 1963-65.

They made say the Protestant Version of the Lord’s Prayer. Lawrence MA, where 95% of the students were Roman Catholic. The teacher would recite the prayer and we all would stop after “... deliver us from evil”. Funny.

[ThoughtCriminal]

11. Alabama 1964+

We had it - every day. By the time I was in the 3rd grade (1966) I think it had vanished from daily practice. Very religious-themed Christmas plays continued until at least the 1970s.

[Quixote1818]

13. We had religious plays in NM in the late 1970's too.

They were all Christmas related. Similar to what you see in the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon.

[Squinch]

14. The push to get prayer OUT of the public schools began with the archbishop of New York who

built St. Patrick's. He didn't like his catholic flock having to say protestant prayers.

I always like to throw that in the face of my catholic friends who complain about no prayer in schools.

[Quixote1818]

16. Interesting. nt

[Squinch]

19. "Dagger John" Hughes. Fought to remove biblical teachings, biblical readings, and

all Protestant prayer and ritual from the public schools.

[LanternWaste]

15. The only religious invocation I remember during high school was Mrs. Dyer's AP English class.

The only religious invocation I remember during high school was Mrs. Dyer's AP English class.

Just prior to each rigorous test on our reading material, she'd say "God bless you" and with a wry smile, wink to us.

We began calling any difficult exam or quiz "God Bless You Tests."

It was all in jest... but I'm sure someone, somewhere will be oppressed by it.




(and as she never specified which God of which faith, we could only presume. Randy (our eventual valedictorian, said she was invoking Odin)

[PatSeg]

17. We never had prayer in school

I lived most of my life in the Chicago area and my parents didn't have school prayer either.

We moved to Mississippi for a year and half, when I was in high school and I was totally shocked by the whole morning prayer routine. It was like traveling back in time. This would have been 1962 and 1963.

[The Genealogist]

18. 1980-1981 school year, Springfield, MO

We took turns saying a prayer every day when lined up to go to lunch. I was a first grader.

[Blue_true]

20. I was educated in Florida, am a baby boomer.

We did the pledge early on, but absolutely never prayed at anytime while at school. I grew up in a then conservative part of Florida.

[Golden Raisin]

21. None, except for one 3rd-grade teacher in 1957

in whose class we recited "The Lord's Prayer" every morning. She did this on her own initiative. No other grade or class in the school (Long Island) had any prayer.

[justhanginon]

22. Went to public grade school in Missouri in the early forties.

I don't recall any prayer in school. Went to parochial (Lutheran) high school and I am sure there was praying there but I was not much into that by that time in my life.

[sinkingfeeling]

23. I started first grade in 1954 and we had prayer and Bible verse

memorization. That was in Ohio.

[haele]

25. Depends of if the John Birchers/Knights of Colombus were running the county/school district.

Birchers were/are really big into school prayer as an anti-communist tactic. And they liked make sure everyone in the community fell in line.
That's where the "One Nation Under God" came from in the Pledge.

Haele

[annabanana]

26. In Massachusetts, in the 50's we said the Lord's Prayer right after the pledge...

And I think that was BEFORE they added the "under God" to the Pledge.. Not positive because I was a liddle kid

[rurallib]

27. I went to catholic schools, but my friends in public schools

said they never prayed at all, including the sports teams. This was late 50s to 60s in Iowa.

[Zen Democrat]

28. I specifically remember in elementary school we said the Pledge and sang My Country Tis of Thee

At assemblies we said the pledge and sang America the Beautiful. There were no prayers. And no O Say Can You See.

This was in the '50s.

[leftyladyfrommo]

29. Went to school in Spokane in the 60's. No prayers. nt

[Sophia4]

30. Had it in Alabama, and it was really not good, just embarrassing to me because

I was frequently chosen to read the Bible verses. It was awful to be picked out like that. Maybe it was because I was well behaved and my father was a minister. I just felt so uncomfortable about it.

[madinmaryland]

32. Other than a prayer or benediction at graduation ceremonies

I don’t ever recall any prayers in public school. 1960s to late 1970’s. Ohio.

[OriginalGeek]

33. I Was born in 63

I went to elementary schools in Florida, Kentucky,Maryland, back to Florida and then out to Texas. The only prayer I remember was 7th-8th grade choir teacher who complained about not being allowed to pray and then held a moment of silence before every class. It was pretty obvious we were expected to pray. I then went to a christian school for high school and we obviously prayed every day and usually multiple times. OR so they thought.

[Fresh_Start]

34. Only in parochial school and

after school religious education offsite from the school

[3catwoman3]

35. I went to 6 different school, all in various towns...

...in western upstate NY. I do not recall prayer in the classrooms.

I do remember all the Catholic kids getting out of school early on Fridays for "religious instruction," and the cafeteria Friday menu alternating every pther week between fish sticks and cheese pizza to be in keeping with the no meat on Friday restriction.

[Jersey Devil]

36. In 1950s NJ every school day started with the pledge and a bible reading

The Old Testament specifically so that Jews would not be offended. At least that was the teacher's explanation.

[left-of-center2012]

37. None at my school in the 1950's

That's in western PA.

[grantcart]

41. Prayer in school is common and universal in all schools

right before a surprise quiz

other than that, no