Millions of school-age young people, through the virtual exclusion from our public schools of all reference to God in prayer, are left to conclude that the State recognizes no power higher than its own. The resulting spiritual vacuum has been filled by a pervasive secularism, an environment which subtly makes man the measure of all things. Religious expression must be allowed in public education if the schools are truly to be constitutionally balanced in the matter of religion.

The National Association of Evangelicals therefore urges Congress to act in the following two ways.

1. School Prayer Constitutional Amendment

We urge Congress to pass a voluntary school prayer amendment to the Constitution which would do the following: preclude construing the Constitution to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools; insure that no one would be required to participate in prayer; and prohibit government from prescribing the words of any prayer to be said in public schools.

2. Equal Access Legislation

We further urge Congress, as an accommodation to the free exercise of religion, to pass legislation prohibiting discrimination against public high school student groups on the basis of the religious content of their speech. Students who want to meet for student-initiated prayer, Bible study or other religious expression should not be treated differently from students who meet for non-religious purposes and should be granted equal access to the physical facilities of public education. Any teacher involvement with a religious student group should not relate to the content of any religious expression.