Research Paper on Prayer

Research Paper on Prayer We live in a nation that says personal freedom is the fundamental and supreme value. There is no room for state-mandated prayer in a nation of citizens that greatly value their individuality. The nation we live in has no governmentally adopted religion or particular religious faith, this is because of the constitutional principle that the Supreme Court has maintained for many years, this â€Å"wall of separation between Church and State† that makes America a model of religious freedom. Religion matters tremendously in the United States, a world torn by conflict over religious differences the United States is the most religiously diverse nation on Earth. Therefore we are not officially a Christian nation, which gives us the ability to actually live up to the First Amendment and have more religious liberty in this country. That diversity will be endangered, not enhanced, if an amendment is passed that would promote organized school prayer. A proposal like enforcing prayer in public schools will create the type of division that the framers of the Constitution were seeking to prevent when they adopted the First Amendment. Children, who are required to attend school by law, should not be placed in the position of having to choose between pressures from their teachers, peers, and their parent’s instructions on religious practice. School sponsorship of a religious message is impermissible because it sends a subliminal message to the students, of leaving some who are nonadherents feeling as though they are outsiders. The current United States Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment does not prohibit students from praying voluntarily in school. However, it does bar organized school sponsored prayer. This is the difference between the right to pray in school, which is an absolute right, and the right not to be coerced to pray. Texas Governor Rick Perry led an organized prayer at an East Texas middle school on October 18, 2001. At the end of his prayer he offered â€Å"in Jesus’ name,† and some students responded with â€Å"Amen.† This is a problem because the students were required to attend this assembly therefore this was an organized prayer that students who may be nonbelievers or even of other religions were forced to participate in. The Governor took his personal perspective in consideration, â€Å"prayer life and a country that respects a higher being, our God, is a stronger country.† That is his belief and he took it upon himself to say that the majority of people in Texas believe the same thing. Has America along with the Governor forgotten about the rights of the minority? He overlooked the right not to be coerced to pray and the fact that not all Texans are going to be comfortable with the same prayer. Rick Perry is oppressing those that are of the Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist religion, or nonbelievers by saying that we all pray to the same God, and those who don’t should just show benevolence. The Governor should know that the founders of our nation strongly believed that the government, whether on the national or local level, should not become involved in any way in religious activities, which is exactly what he did. It is just not possible to have organized prayer in school w hen the United States is the multicultural melting pot of the world. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, people in the nation should be called to prayer and students need a sanctuary. The sanctuary that students need can be found in the schools. Schools have students for at least 30 hours a week, which is more time than what the parents have in reality, and 30 times more than the church. More than any other institution in the world, the school has that unique opportunity with the next generation. The school is the school, an institution for learning, providing instruction and the church is the church, a clergy of a religious body. It is not the duty of the public school to teach religion or practice any majority religion. Parents are still the sole providers and teachers of morality for their children, and because students spend most of their time at public schools does not take away the duties that parents have to their children. Bringing a child up in a particular faith or teaching them the beliefs of a particular faith is a privilege and right of a parent. Wanting to bring religion to the children in public schools takes away that right and responsibility from parents. Most Americans do not want the government interfering in any of their most private affairs, one of them being religion. The public school that a parent’s child may be attending could be the very school that teaches a prayer that endorses beliefs that offend a parent. There are concerns about a decline in moral values in the country and in the increase in violence on the streets and in America’s homes. William Bennett, former Secretary of Education, claims that the 1962 decision, Engel v. Vitale of banning official prayer from the public schools, is directly responsible for the national decline. The 1962 decision marked a rapid plunge in SAT scores, a high rise in the teenage pregnancy rate and many other social problems. However, these are misleading claims, the social problems are related to the increase in wealth and opportunity and education between the richest and poorest people in our society. It is obvious that the decline and social problem have clearly nothing to do with prayer in public schools. For it is very crucial that America remembers that the school or any other government body cannot substitute for our churches, synagogues, mosques, homes, or any other place of worship. Prayer in the public schools will infringe on religious liberty rights, it will encourage divisiveness along religious lines in a public school setting, the minority religion will never prevail and their views will be effectively silenced. The nation’s founders believed that people should be free to pursue their own religious beliefs without government interference. Government endorsement of religion in a public school is a violation of the First Amendment and religious freedom should never be subjected to majority vote. You can also order a custom essay, term paper, thesis, dissertation or research paper on prayer from our custom research writing service which provides high-quality custom written papers at an affordable cost. Here is a list of the most popular essay topics on prayer: Should Prayer be Allowed in Schools? Prayer In School Religious Freedom? Power of Prayer Distant Intercessory Prayer Injustice on Prayer in Colleges A Prayer for Own Meany An Instrument of God Prayer for Success Does God Need the Church? Prayer Session Exodus 2:23-3:10 Prayer in Portrait of the Artist Analytical Response: Prayer before birth and Mid-term break

Music Piracy essays

Music Piracy essays On September 19, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission filed 196 lawsuits against citizens who were pirating music. The people ranged from a ten year-old girl to a seventy-five-year old grandfather, who had allowed his grandchildren to use his computer. The suits were filed against down-loaders who had pirated well over 800 songs. Only recently has the issue of file sharing become an out-of-control problem. The public is fascinated with having access to music without paying, or paying very little for it. Although down-loading is a common activity in households today, the FCC and artists alike find file sharing to be a hobby which must come to an end. Typically, the first step to promoting an album is to release the single on the radio. The audience grows affection for this song, and cannot wait for the C.D. to come out. However, thanks to the internet, people can have access to the single right after its radio release. File sharing solves the issue of waiting months to hear one particular song. In some cases, that one single happens to be the only good song on the album. Rather than pay eighteen dollars for twelve songs, in which only one holds significance, listeners are now downloading that solo track for free. Unknown bands also have a chance to introduce their music to the world; posting tracks online helps the musicians gain a following without going through a major record label. Websites such as Napster were a success because visitors could download as many songs as they liked without paying a dime. Eventually, the FCC found means to shut down the site, which led to the creation of such sites as Kazaa and Morpheus. Kazaa allows visitors to download up to two hundred songs before they have to pay a fee. After that, they are charged around ninety-nine cents a song. Napster made a comeback in the fall of 2002 by charging down-loaders around ninety cents a song. However, this minor charge came about only recently ...

Discuss in DETAIL six Cognitive distortions Essay

Discuss in DETAIL six Cognitive distortions - Essay Example Due to such a perception, an individual may end up having a self perception that may be distorted or completely untrue. A third distortion is magnification or minimization which occurs when an individual ignores the positive and over thinks about the negatives or ignores the negative and only thinks about the positives in himself or herself. Personalization is a fourth kind of distortion occurs when an individual connects an unrelated event to his/her state and believes that it is connected to him/her. For example: an individual may believe that the death of a loved one was caused by them. The fifth kind of cognitive distortion is All-or-nothing thinking which takes place when an individual is of the idea that events should happen as he/she may want it to be or they have completely failed. Selective abstractions take place when an individual chooses a certain part of an event to prove that he she was experiencing depression at that

What is the heart of Catholicism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

What is the heart of Catholicism - Essay Example For salvation and redemption, people need to gather around the bishop since he is the true descendant of God and, therefore, of Jesus. In Catholicism, this institutional approach to belief and the importance of communion with the Holy See through a religious medium like church or other religious authority are essentially inspired by Biblical evidences and history. One of Jesus’ speeches supports Catholicism’s claim about the importance of a believer’s communion with the religious authority is as following: â€Å"I say to you, something greater than the temple is here† (Barron 24). Indeed in Catholicism, the ideas of ‘temple’ and ‘bishop’ are the representatives of each other. In this regard, Barron says, â€Å"If Jesus is, in his person, the true temple, then he should be the definitive source of teaching, healing and, forgiveness and this is just what the Gospel tells us† (Barron 24). Indeed this very basis of Christ’s persona as the sole source salvation and redemption lies at the heart of Catholicism. Indeed, proper religious authority plays an important role in shaping the rites and rituals of Catholicism. The propriety of religious authority is often determined by sacramental evidences. While the Catholics unanimously believe in the ministration of Christ as the temple of teaching, salvation and redemption, the bishop is believed to be the true spiritual descendant of Christ himself. Therefore a bishop plays a very important role in catholic rites and rituals. For an instance, Catholic dogma asserts that the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper must be administered by certain qualified persons. According to the Roman Catholic Church, â€Å"only a Catholic Priest ordained into the apostolic succession can administered the Eucharist† (Erickson 1122). Erickson further says in this regard, â€Å"If any other person should take the same physical elements and pronounce the same words over them, they would remain bread and

International Human Rights Treaties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Human Rights Treaties - Essay Example Hathaway (588) states that there are two main UN-chartered based enforcements. The two are declarations and conventions. The extent to which declarations are effective enough to attract compliance is limited. This is because; declarations depend on the willingness of the host country to enforce certain laws. In addition, declarations are not legally binding. However, declarations have major political implications in terms of enforcement and the willingness to comply by the members bound by the said declarations. Under the international law on the other hand, conventions are legally binding. According to Neumayer (925), it is common knowledge that international human rights are generally under-enforced. The reason given for this under-enforcement is due to the nature of enforcement of such treaties, which is mainly done through transitional legal processes. The international legal processes in this context refer to the collaboration between various legal institutions across the world. Kinney (1457) also shows the distinct difference between obedience and enforcement. Obedience does not involve any consequences other than the fact that disobedience of the law may have indirect political, economic, and social implications. However, enforcement is subject to punitive measures in terms of violations. This implies that laws that are enforced attract legal measures and implications at the behest of the international community. The situation is often complicated when some nations are not part of any international community.

The Ambition and Idealism of Benito Mussolini Essay Example for Free

The Ambition and Idealism of Benito Mussolini Essay The rise and fall of the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Italy during the early half of the twentieth century demonstrate the story of a man’s vision pursued, but eventually doomed. The reign of Mussolini in Italy is one remembered in history as a violent suppression of human rights in name of a ruthless ambition to revive the past glory of Italy and ultimately (re)create an Italian empire (Smith). Born in a small Italian village in the district of Predappio, his beginnings were humble (Roberts, 2006). However, his educated parents gave him an education which broadened his view of the world and led him to be dissatisfied and restless about the opportunities a man like him could have in Predappio. His father, who was a blacksmith, actively participated in Socialist concerns and voiced out his opinion against dubious policies that affected their labor (Roberts, 2006). His mother, who worked as a schoolteacher in a small village for a meager salary, taught the young Benito discipline and focus. He was educated in a strict Catholic school which proved to be unsuitable for him because of his restlessness, inclination to rebellion and uncontrolled and violent temper (Haugen, 2007). After transferring to a different school, Mussolini blossomed into his adolescence with a great aptitude and flair for writing and oration. He became interested in politics, poetry and literature. Around 1902, he attempted to work as a schoolteacher but failed miserably at it, so he decided to migrate to Switzerland to find opportunity and also to escape the military draft during that time in Italy (Roberts, 2006). Upon his return to Italy in 1904 and the subsequent pardon of all draft dodgers in exchange for their enlistment in the army, Mussolini realized that his future was in the country of his birth (Roberts, 2006). His appetite for adventure, socialism, journalism and politics landed him an editorial job in Trent near the Italian-Austrian border where he asserted and promoted his Socialist beliefs. He also trumpeted the pride of being Italian and spoke about the â€Å"Latin genius and courage† (Roberts, 2006, 19). After being evicted from that district because of its anti-socialists sentiments, he moved to Forli near his birthplace to work for a socialist newspaper and engaged himself in more political work (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). It was in Forli where he was elected as the secretary for the Socialists. His popularity grew as he became more voracious in his writings and speeches. He drew support from his radical decisions such as the strike he organized in Forli which resulted to his imprisonment (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). When World Ward I broke out, Mussolini opposed the participation of Italy claiming that he would only support class war and threatened a proletariat revolution if Italy continued their support (Smith). But, he retracted soon after and encouraged young men to enlist; this decision resulted in his expulsion from the Socialist party (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). He formed the Fascist party through the establishment of a pro-war group called Fasci dAzione Rivoluzionaria (Smith). However, Mussolini failed to secure the seats he needed in senate to gain power and control. After the breakdown of a weak alliance with the dominant party Popolare, Mussolini decided that he won’t win the seats democratically, so he staged a siege in Rome which ended in the invitation of the king for him to build a new government (Smith). It was at this point as the head of the National Fascist Party that he established himself as dictator, Il Duce (â€Å"Mussolini†). From that point on he would demand blind trust from the people after insisting through propaganda that he was after all their â€Å"infallible, irreplaceable duce† (Griffin, 2000, 31). As a dictator, Mussolini knew that absolute control was key in ensuring the attainment of his goals. He formed a powerful military force and a secret police to vanquish insubordination (â€Å"Mussolini†). He converted the state economy into â€Å"corporate state† wherein all Italians in professional organizations were put in corporations controlled by the central government (â€Å"Mussolini,† Smith). Propaganda was crucial in Mussolini’s career as dictator. He spent considerable time in planning and propagating his ideas through the press, films and school books (Smith). His training as a journalist and orator helped him broadcast his imperial ideas. To proselytize younger generation, he banned history books in school and indoctrinated them with the tenets of fascism (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). Under his rule, he abolished the parliament and rewrote the laws to ensure the loyalty of every citizen to the Fascist party (Smith). He tempered his ruthlessness with popular decisions such as the approval of Vatican’s independence. However, the people’s support to him started to wane as he made erratic, unplanned and senseless military and political decisions. In an effort to expand Italy’s territory, he waged war in Ethiopia; this was met with worldwide protest (â€Å"Mussolini†). After the League of Nations condemned his imperialist decisions, he forged allegiance with the Nazi party although he previously opposed Hitler because of Mussolini’s fear of losing Austria to the Germans. His allegiance to the Nazi marked the beginning of his gradual downfall as he supported the World War waged by Hitler (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). Further, he spread anti-semitism in Italy which Lindemann (2007, 1) pertains to as an â€Å"opportunistic, unsystematic and unprincipled† decision. As the Allied powers encroached German territories, Italy’s weak military force gave in to the pressure of defeat. Mussolini sought refuge under the German forces and attempted to escape to Switzerland. However, anti-Fascist rebels seized their vehicle and got custody of Mussolini and twelve other Fascist party officials (Smith). They were summarily executed and their corpses were hung in public where the people ridiculed and mocked their dead bodies. The ambition for power and control and its inevitable disintegration ended the twenty year reign of Mussolini in Italy. Some historians claim that with the way Mussolini ruled Italy, it is doubtful whether he has as much idealism in him as his speech and propaganda portrayed (Griffin 2000). Whether it his idealism or his ambition which motivated his decisions, the scars of his dictatorial rule in Italy will remain in history as one of the deplorable outcomes of fascist dictatorial rule. References â€Å"Benito Mussolini. † (2008). ThinkQuest Library. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://library. thinkquest. org/17120/data/bios/mussolini/ Griffin, R. (2000). How fascist was Mussolini. New Perspective 9. 1 pp. 31-35. Haugen, B. (2007). Benito Mussolini: Fascist italian dictator. Minneapolis, Minn. : Compass Point Books Lindemann, A. (2007) Benito Mussolini. UCSB History Department. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://www. history. ucsb. edu/syllabi/spring07/Lindemann/Mussolini2. pdf â€Å"Mussolini, Benito Amicare Andrea† (1999). Who’s Who in the Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference Online. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://www. oxfordreference. com/views/ENTRY. html? subview=Mainentry=t47. e1187 Roberts, J. (2006). Benito Mussolini. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing. Smith, D. M. Benito Mussolini. Groiler Online. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://www. grolier. com/wwii/wwii_mussolini. html

The Relationship Between And Mother And Daughter English Literature Essay

The Relationship Between And Mother And Daughter English Literature Essay The most intriguing and challenging relationship on the planet is the one of mother and daughter. It is no shock as to why. There are so many factors involved in this relationship. There is a special and unmistakable connection between mothers and daughters. When a baby girl is born, the mother has an immediate connection that transcends comprehension. She knows that child is the best pieces of her. This child is connected to her as if she were her soul mate. so beautiful, rapturous , pregnant with their child. She told no one but she knew the baby was to be a girl. It would be herself again, reborn and this time perfect. As this little girl grows up, the relationship gets complicated. Intense love and intense hatred surface. Women are sociable. Talking about lifes problems comes easy to a young girl and her mother. She comes home from school and tells her Mommy about her day, her friends and her dreams. As she grows up she will go to her mother for advice about boys and have many laughs together. When she becomes a teen, mother daughter relationship can go one of two ways. One Is just as likely to happen as the other. Either the Mother and Daughter will come together emotionally and bond over lifes trials and tribulations. Or theyll become adversaries, suddenly making the mother who loved and nurtured her daughter, who was once her best friend, suddenly arch-enemy number one. The Mothers desire to be her daughters best friend conflicts with her daughters need to be an individual. Mrs. Dietrich is a divorcee mother that is yearning for meaning and love in her life. Nola is a young adult looking for independence and to feel like a grown woman. This is the theme throughout the story. Nola saw Mrs. Dietrich watching her and walked away angrily and when Mrs. Dietrich caught up with her she said, I cant stand it, Mother. Her voice was choked and harsh, a vein prominent in her forehead. Let me go. For Christs sake will you let me go. This relationship is a typical one of a seventeen year old girl and her mother, marked with the intensity only a teenage daughter can bring out of her mother . As Nola glances up, startled, not prepared to see her mother in front of her, their eyes lock for an instant and Mrs. Dietrich stares at her with hatred. Cold calm clear unmistakeable hatred. She is thinking, Who are you? What have I to do with you? I dont know you, I dont love you, why should I? Teenage girls want their mother both close to them and far away emotionally, but they are not sure how to achieve this so they give mixed signals. The daughters push away and instinctively their mothers try to regain control of their connection by pursuing the emotional closeness. In the attempt to keep their relationship close, mothers tend to smother their teenage daughters. Mrs. Dietrich sees Nola as her only source of love so she tries to keep that alive, unbenonst to her she is smothering Nola with her overbearing need to feel attachment. Sometimes in weak despondent moods, alone, lonely, self-pitying, when she has had too much to drink, Mrs. Dietrich thinks she is in love with her daughter. Mrs. Dietrich is not her own woman. Her divorce, compounded by her loneliness and alcoholism forces her to need Nola in a way that is not healthy. She hides behind her daughter because she doenst know how to live anymore. She spent her whole life being needed, by her husband and her daughter , and now that she doesnt feel needed she essentially is in crisis mode. As she tries to hold on to every little glance, every word and every breath her daughter takes, Nola asserts herself further from her grasp. When Nola is away she seems to forget her mother entirely-doesnt telephone, certainly does not write. Its the way all their daughters are, Mrs. Dietrichs friends tell her. Mrs. Dietrichs divorce from Nolas father is also a driving force behind each womans behavior. In theory, divorce need not mean disconnection. In reality, it often does. One large survey in the late 1980s found that about one in five divorced fathers had not seen his children in the past year, and less than half of divorced fathers saw their children more than several times a year. A 1981 survey of adolescents who were living apart from their fathers found that 52 percent had not seen them at all in more than a year; only 16 percent saw their fathers as often as once a week. Moreover, the survey showed fathers contact with their children dropping off sharply with the passage of time after the marital breakup. (world without fathers)   Ã‚  Once the oldest child hits adolescence, parents are catapulted into a process of life review. Where have I been, where am I now, where am I going? These questions gnaw at parents who observe their children at the brink of adulthood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It hits hardest the parent who is the same sex as the adolescent. Mothers and daughters actually have more difficulty than fathers and sons. In either case, the children tend to serve as a mirror of their younger lost selves, and bear the brunt of parents regrets as parents distance themselves. Among parents who have gone through a real divorce, the emotional divorce that occurs between adolescents and their parents can heighten difficulty. It may reawaken feelings of sadness. Parents who dont have many interests outside the family are also vulnerable. Their kids are telling them to Get a life! and that is exactly what they need to do.(adolencents whose hell is it)