Let Us Pray: A Plea for Prayer in Our Schools - Hardcover

Murray, William J.

4.43

7 ratings by Goodreads

9780688145637: Let Us Pray: A Plea for Prayer in Our Schools

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688145639 ISBN 13: 9780688145637

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1995

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Suggests that religion should not be eliminated from public life, argues that the lack of school prayer is responsible for the moral decline of the nation's youth, and describes the role of the author's mother in the landmark Supreme Court case

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly:

Murray, an ordained minister in Texas and an outspoken advocate of prayer in U.S. public schools, now regrets his historic role as 14-year-old plaintiff in the case against the Baltimore school system that led to the Supreme Court's 1963 decision banning school prayer and Bible reading. Rejecting the militant atheism of his mother, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, whose anti-prayer campaign molded his youth, he argues here that the Founding Fathers never intended to remove prayer from public institutions or the workplace. Thomas Jefferson's call for a "wall of separation between church and State" applied to Congress only and did not include public schools, in his analysis. Assailing what he views as the Supreme Court's calculated policy of secularization, Murray invokes John Locke, Tocqueville and others who attached great importance to religion as a moralizing force in society. He advocates a constitutional amendment that would allow voluntary prayer if students initiate it and school districts accommodate it. This polemic, written with Ross (coauthor of Compassionate Capitalism), is not likely to win over those not committed to his viewpoint. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

The Murray of Murray v. Curlett, the 1963 Supreme Court decision that declared state-mandated prayer in public schools unconstitutional, grew up (he was 14 when the case started) to become a staunch Christian. Now, with writer-researcher Ross' aid, he contributes to the debate over religious-governmental relations a measured, reasonable argument for allowing, not mandating (local option to pray in school would be the new rule), the return of prayer to school. He strives to show that the era of secular dominance in America is over, that judicial decisions establishing the fabled wall of separation between church and state misunderstood the Constitution and the intellectual climate that produced it, and that the 30-year coincidence of governmental disapprobation of religion and rising crime rates is not accidental. Because he is never preachy and doesn't expect miracles from school prayer--just a step toward restoring moral instruction to the curriculum--he is awfully convincing. With a school prayer amendment now on Congress' docket, expect to see more of Murray as well as demand for his book. Ray Olson

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.