Prayer in Public Schools: When Church and State Collide

Prayer and Bible reading in public schools have led to three major Supreme Court decisions and the introduction of numerous constitutional amendments in the U.S. Congress which would permit voluntary prayer in public schools or limit federal court jurisdiction. Public opinion polls beginning in 1964 have suggested widespread support among the American public for prayer in public schools. Little is known, however, concerning the characteristics of those supporting and opposing prayer in public schools. This article addresses the school prayer issue through an analysis of three national surveys which were conducted in 1974. 1980. and 1982. Those favoring school prayer were found to be older, less educated, and socially, politically, and religiously conservative. Multivariate analysis revealed that the key predictor variables were religious orthodoxy and religious salience, a finding which may stem from the observation that school prayer is both a political and a religious issue. Issue salience, congressional voting decisions, and demographic characteristics of school prayer advocates are considered as possible explanations for the failure of Congress to act in accord with public opinion.