Most of us think Madalyn Murray O'Hare is behind the ban on prayer in schools. But, in fact, it is 67-year-old Ellery Schempp.
Who Is Ellery Schempp?
Schempp is an atheist, physicist, holds a doctorate in physics from Brown University, was part of the fiberoptics revolution, and worked with early MRI technology. How did he get involved in school prayer?
1956
While in high school, Schempp objected to the daily prayer in high school. So, during one of the devotionals, he refused to stand and recite the Our Father. He also brought the Quran instead a Christian Bible to school. For this action, he was removed from the classroom by the teacher. He wrote to the American Civil Liberties Union for assistance resulting in prayer being removed from public schools.
Book
Stephen Soloman, a New York University law professor, has written a new book which focuses on Schempp and the separation of church and state controversy. The book named "Ellery's Protest" examines the effect this case has had on our society.
Schempp says, "Keeping the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons and that crowd at bay as best we can is important. It's tremendous fun." [msnbc.msn.com, August 24, 2007]
Muslim Prayer
Ironically, Schempp used the Quran as a tool to remove Christian prayer. But recently, Muslims are being allowed time and room to pray where Christians are not. The ACLU is remaining silent.
Related articles: Arabic School Tension, Chinese and Arabic: Hot Languages, Khalil Gibran Academy in NYC
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
