An Argument for Public Prayer

Majority Rule is the Democratic Way

By Edward Maurer, published Dec 12, 2007
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Many American Christians declare they have a right to pray in public. I completely agree. They do, as do all other people of faith. Many of these same Christians declare they also have a right to have prayers in school, at school-sporting events, in courtrooms and all other public venues sponsored by or on behalf of government. Many people disagree for various reasons, mostly because it's deemed unfair.

My position, for the sake of argument is that public, government-sponsored prayer should be allowed if we can easily solve just one challenge: Make it fair.

How do we make it fair? Well, we need to decide who selects the prayer. I guess that since this is a democratic nation, it should be voted on, and a simple majority wins. Good, fair enough. That way, the majority gets to choose what prayers are said in public settings. And don't forget that since it's a majority decision, all are required to comply with it, regardless of their beliefs. It's only fair.

Here's three examples of how this might work:

-A town in Kansas has a Christian majority that wins the vote. Prayers in school and at ball games and in the courts are Christian prayers.
-A county in New York has a Jewish majority, so all prayers in school and at ball games and in the courts are Jewish prayers. Oh, don't forget head coverings, and separate males from females during prayers.
-A city in northern Michigan has a Muslim majority, so prayers in school and at ball games and in the courts are Muslim prayers. Oh-don't forget to stop classes several times a day to have all the students-Christians and Jews included-face Mecca for their prayers.

Great. Problem solved. We have school prayer, and it's done in the manner the majority chooses. It's only fair; it's the democratic way.

God bless America. You may now pray....

Takeaways
  • Public prayer should be allowed
  • The majority chooses what prayers are said
  • All religions are eligible
Did You Know?
Many Christians believe they have a right to force their prayers on other people and use the idea of majority rule to justify it.
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