Texas High School’s Prayer Room Center of Controversy
- Veronica Neffinger iBelieve Contributor
- Updated Mar 20, 2017
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A Texas high school's prayer room has been the subject of controversy regarding religious freedom.
Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas has an on-site prayer room which Muslim students use to prayer during school hours.
This room has been the center of controversy since some claim that students of other religions are not afforded similar privileges and/or that the Constitution prohibits a display of religion in any public place.
According to Fox News, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently sent a letter to the school district, explaining that it is a violation of the First Amendment to exclude students of other religious affiliations from using the room.
The school district, however, alleges that the room is available to “students of all walks of life.”
Robert Jeffress, a conservative and the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas told “Fox & Friends” that he does not take issue with the prayer room, as long as students of all religions are allowed to use it.
“I believe as long as students had equal access to the room it’s not a First Amendment issue,” stated Jeffress. “I believe we really as conservatives need to be careful that we don’t pervert the First Amendment like liberals do to use it for their own agenda.”
Muslim-American Democrat Mustafa Tameez seemed to agree with Jeffress.
“In airports we have a chapel where people can go pray,” he said. “So it’s not necessarily just for Muslim students. It’s for anybody, anybody of faith that wants to use a room to communicate with their creator."
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: March 20, 2017