Research Paper on:
Public School System and the Issue of Religion

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
prominent. Slowly religion was withdrawn from the schools by common school advocates who believed that one system should be utilized across the country. When religion began to disappear from the  school system many critics believed that the moral standards of students began to decrease and taking religion out of education resulted in many aspects of literature and history being taught  out of context. In 1995, President Clinton released policies on religious expression within the public schools system which basically mandated that students were allowed to pray and discuss religions freely  throughout the day and use school facilities to hold religious meetings before and after the scheduled curriculum. Public schools however were not mandated to include prayer times within the school  day and those who tried to instigate such policies were opposed. If public schools are truly public however and include those who have religious affiliations but are economically not able  to attend private schools, then considerations should be made for this portion of the population and reflecting all aspects of all religions should be considered allowing for prayer times throughout  the school day. For those who do not wish to utilize these times for prayer, the time could be used for study while at the same time the students would  be learning about other religions and religious tolerance. In August of 1995, the Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley under the direction of  President Clinton sent to every public school the "Religious Expression in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles" which were a set of guidelines to be used by public schools in  regards to religious expression in schools and was also updated and re-released in 1998 and 1999 (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). The guidelines were meant to help with teachers and