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Reaction Paper 2
October 18, 2010
Illinois Moment-of-Silence Law Upheld
Education Week
By Mark Walsh on October 18, 2010
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2010/10/illinois_moment-of-silence_law.html
On October 15, 2010, Illinois law, 105 ILCS 20/, the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer
Act, was upheld by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (First Amendment Center Online Staff).
This law requires there to be a moment of silence every day at the start of school. This short
period is defined as an opportunity for "silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated
activities of the day." This Act has been in process since 1969 and was vetoed in 2007 by former
Governor Rod Blagojevich. He argued that the Act was a violation of the constitution. The veto
was overruled in the Illinois Senate with an overwhelming vote of 42-9. One of the real causes of
conflict came in 2007 when the Illinois legislature amended the wording of the bill to read that a
teacher “shall” observe the time of silence instead of saying the teacher “may” observe the time of
silence.
Those arguing for the Act claim that its primary purpose is secular and not religious,
therefore it is constitutional. Also, the law also does not specify that the time of silence be a time
for prayer. However, some in the community did challenge the law, such as Robert Sherman and
his fourteen-year-old daughter, Dawn. The Shermans argued that the Act was “a violation of the
Shermans believe that providing a time of silence effectively is an encouragement to pray and
think about religion. U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel A. Manion disagrees with the Shermans
assessment. He writes that, “[Illinois] has offered a secular purpose for Section 1—establishing a
period of silence for all school children in Illinois to calm the students and prepare them for a day
of learning."
Some of the objectors to this law have asked why there is mention of prayer if the primary
purpose is secular. Judge Manion answers this objection saying that, "It was important to note that
prayer is a permissible option to negate any impression that teachers or students may have that
students were not allowed to pray (silently) during the period of silence." On that point, I do agree
with Judge Manion. I think if there is going to a law about a period of reflection it should say
whether or not prayer was allowed during that time. I also agree with the Shermans' perspective
that requiring a time of silence may encourage many students to pray at that time.
Though it is clear that this time of silence is not to be “conducted as a religious exercise,” it
leaves a lot of room for questioning the motivations behind its existence. Though I am in full
support of prayer being allowed in schools, I have a hard time seeing the necessity for such a law
that would designate a period of time where students could pray. I believe that if a student wants
to pray they have every right to do so at any given time provided they are not a distraction to the
classroom. For instance, many times when I have taken exams in school I will say desperate
prayers before, during, and afterward. I have found that praying is a way to calm myself down and
to help me focus on the task at hand. What I do not understand is why the lawmakers of the Silent
Reflection and Student Prayer Act believe that students who want to pray are not finding time to do
so privately.
I do not believe that this Act is unconstitutional, rather I feel that it is unnecessary. If we
take religion out of the picture, then the silent time becomes nothing more than a classroom
management technique. I think teachers asking students to be quiet and reflect on their lessons,
students in a mindset for learning and concentrating throughout the day. I recall that in the middle
school I attended here in Lincoln we were assigned a home room where we met for fifteen minutes
each morning to hear school announcements and were given about ten minutes to read or work on
a project quietly before proceeding to various classrooms. If I had wanted to or felt the need to
pray during this time each morning I am sure I could have done so. However, even as a devout
Christian, the activity I remember doing most was coloring circles in my notebook with magic
markers. Now, did that quiet time really help me focus on my day? I would say no, it did not. Did
it provide a time for students to hear announcements and catch up on some homework? Yes, it did.
I do not believe that the Illinois lawmakers are trying to force Protestant beliefs on the students in
their schools. Rather, I feel that they are trying to protect the rights of those with religious beliefs,
no matter who the god is to which they pray. For me, the question of why does Illinois need this
One of the gray areas in this law is that the length of the silence is not specified. Is it then
up to the teacher at the beginning of the day to decide if their students need however many minutes
of reflection time? Furthermore, suppose a teacher lets students reflect for ten seconds. Is that
fulfilling the law? I do think that if this law is to be enforced and understood it should specify the
As mentioned earlier, I see this Act not as a violation of the constitution but instead I feel it
is unnecessary. If those who support this law in Illinois do so because they want there to be better
control in the classroom, then I suggest that they let teachers decide how to help their students
focus (since they should be doing that anyway). If those who support the law do so because they
feel their child needs more opportunities to pray, then I would urge the parent or guardian to talk to
their child about how to appropriately pray at any time of the day. A prayer need not be a formal
time of bowing the knees, folding one's hands, or even closing your eyes. Prayer has no such
restrictions. Yes, there are common physical positions of praying that demonstrate an attitude of
humility toward the being you are praying to, but I would suggest that no individual should feel the
need to assume a certain physical position every time they have a desire to say a silent prayer.
I do not think this Act does any real harm to students whether they are Muslim, Christian,
or Atheist, but I would question the need for it. It is clear to me that those who drafted the law
were choosing to specify time where prayer could take place in schools, though not requiring all
students to pray. I believe that the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act is not wrong, but quite
superfluous and a cause for controversy that need not have occurred.
Reference
First Amendment Center Online Staff. "7th Circuit: III. moment-of-silence law is constitutional ."
First Amendment Center. The Associated Press, 10/18/2010. Web. 18 Oct 2010.
<http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=23499>.