Fri Oct 27, 2017, 06:49 PM

Please tell me, who did prayer in schools. I was 60's-70's west coast and we did not do prayer in

school. Ever. From the youngest of age.

Anyone? And the location. Because it may be only in the south, I do not know.

My father was in the Midwest in the 40's-50's and he did not have prayer in school.

I have been curious about this for a while, so the more that participate, the better sense I can get of how prevalent it was in schools, where and when.

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148 replies	Author	Time	Post
Please tell me, who did prayer in schools. I was 60's-70's west coast and we did not do prayer in (Original post)	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	OP
60's and 70's	mercuryblues	Oct 2017	#1
Probably nearly all of us (prior to exams)...	hlthe2b	Oct 2017	#2
Pledge of allegiance, yes. Took me a second to get your joke. Funny.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#12
Western Canada	sharp_stick	Oct 2017	#3
Really? And not a Christian school. Interesting. Thanks.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#13
Yup	sharp_stick	Oct 2017	#68
50's and 60's midwest. We sometimes had prayer at school events.	Arkansas Granny	Oct 2017	#4
60's/70's in Texas and the Midwest	Mr. Ected	Oct 2017	#5
NYC Metro area	GP6971	Oct 2017	#6
I did, 60s and 70s	mcar	Oct 2017	#7
Lol.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#14
Never but i think kids were allowed to form prayer groups/clubs	JI7	Oct 2017	#8
Yes with an *. We had a benediction at graduation. Late 1970's in	madinmaryland	Oct 2017	#9
public schools from 1984-1996	Takket	Oct 2017	#10
Same here 83-95 pledge every day, no prayer.	dewsgirl	Oct 2017	#126
Macon Georgia	MaryMagdaline	Oct 2017	#11
Ok. Thanks. I had heard some southern states did prayer.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#16
Later maybe?	MaryMagdaline	Oct 2017	#26
That is the feeling I have been getting. Not that it is "back" to prayer.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#28
Right, I've heard that for a long time: that prayer was "taken out of schools."	Beartracks	Oct 2017	#61
Well, not seeing a lot of 40's like my father, but some 50's and they didn't have it.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#64
It's a lie in any case.	Mariana	Oct 2017	#96
Not my southern state.	cwydro	Oct 2017	#119
I am seeing that. Looks like a scattered few in the South and surprising scattered few	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#120
Oh, bless your heart. I lived there for 3 years in early 1980s. Called my office in	Hoyt	Oct 2017	#85
So sorry	MaryMagdaline	Oct 2017	#93
Heck I was mostly in Mississippi and we didn't.	nolabear	Oct 2017	#15
Ok. So some southern states did not. Good to hear.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#17
I did, mountain west	Drahthaardogs	Oct 2017	#18
At football games but not class, daily?	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#19
No. Just before games.	Drahthaardogs	Oct 2017	#25
New England	TheCowsCameHome	Oct 2017	#20
Ahhh. What a story. Interesting. Ok, thanks.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#21
Rural Ohio, 60s-70s, daily prayer over the PA in elementary school.	yardwork	Oct 2017	#22
Early 60's NYC	Yupster	Oct 2017	#23
Graduated in 1970 - we had prayer in school until the Supreme Court ruled it out	csziggy	Oct 2017	#24
Interesting. Thanks.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#30
70's Austin, TX	Texasgal	Oct 2017	#27
Not in my public school	sakabatou	Oct 2017	#29
50s, 60s Philly	dhol82	Oct 2017	#31
Delaware 70's - nope	jberryhill	Oct 2017	#32
Keeping Christ out of classrooms is another argument.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#35
Thank you all, this is interesting. I appreciate the participation.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#33
No. Upstate New York.	smirkymonkey	Oct 2017	#34
50's and 60's in a Florida public school, yes, with the Lord's Prayer proscribed, until the	tableturner	Oct 2017	#36
Eastern Shore of Maryland - yes, in the late 50's and 1960.	beveeheart	Oct 2017	#78
Western PA -	MyOwnPeace	Oct 2017	#37
Western PA here too and the same.	appleannie1943	Oct 2017	#135
Phila. 'Burbs	RobinA	Oct 2017	#38
I was in Chicago burbs and didnt see it. Further, we knew very well..	kysrsoze	Oct 2017	#39
I also remember being taught church/state separation	shanny	Oct 2017	#42
Late 50's-late 60's north shore LI 85% Jewish neighborhood: no prayers.	fierywoman	Oct 2017	#40
Colorado, 60s-70s--never.	shanny	Oct 2017	#41
Me, too. Like that would do anything.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#47
I win the thread I guess :(	Sgent	Oct 2017	#43
Wow. Thanks.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#49
I went to public summer schools in the 60s when they had real summer school.	kimbutgar	Oct 2017	#44
Atlanta, Georgia and no praying.	Solly Mack	Oct 2017	#45
We didn't have prayer but our fourth grade teacher passed out these 3 x 5 cards on which we told	jalan48	Oct 2017	#46
Gasp, no way. Lol. Wow.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#51
My parents didn't go to church but I went to three different ones until I stopped going in middle	jalan48	Oct 2017	#53
I had the same thing	dhol82	Oct 2017	#73
Easter was the only time I can remember enjoying church. I thought church was more social than	jalan48	Oct 2017	#79
Russian Orthodox Easter is a trip!	dhol82	Oct 2017	#84
It sounds like it was a good time to be in the church-a real sense of history too.	jalan48	Oct 2017	#90
Good times	dhol82	Oct 2017	#91
Yes, I agree. I still like spring though!	jalan48	Oct 2017	#99
Iowa in 60' and 70's - no praying in city schools, can't speak for rural schools.	SharonClark	Oct 2017	#48
Not in Kansas.	nancy1942	Oct 2017	#50
See, that is what my father in the earlier years, and my experience was. Separation.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#52
My experience exactly.	RoBear	Oct 2017	#107
You are right.	nancy1942	Oct 2017	#140
well, i don't remember	RoBear	Oct 2017	#147
I did	maxrandb	Oct 2017	#54
NJ late '50's and early '60's	mnhtnbb	Oct 2017	#55
In public school in Arkansas in the 60s and 70s.	TomSlick	Oct 2017	#56
I started kindergarten in 1970 in St. Louis, we did not do any prayers.	logosoco	Oct 2017	#57
No way. I have not heard of such a thing.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#62
60s-70s for both myself and older sister	benld74	Oct 2017	#58
I lived in Florida in the early 60s and we had teacher led prayer	comradebillyboy	Oct 2017	#59
Interesting that, hu? Lol. Florida, not Utah.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#63
Public school in suburbs of NYC circa 1957.	Golden Raisin	Oct 2017	#60
Did it in public schools until '63.	Kingofalldems	Oct 2017	#65
What area?	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#67
50s and 60s and no	WhiteTara	Oct 2017	#66
I grew up in Iowa. I was in elementary school in the 70's and we had prayer	all american girl	Oct 2017	#69
My father was in Iowa, in the 40's and 50's, no prayer. So, more isolated.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#72
No prayers in LA suburb in the 50's but we did celebrate Christmas & Easter.	Shrike47	Oct 2017	#70
I finished high school in the late 60s in a small South Carolina town.	raccoon	Oct 2017	#71
Florida - 1956	ribrepin	Oct 2017	#74
Cool to know, because Florida seems to be the state besides Mississippi and another Southern state.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#76
I went to first grade in Jacksonville FL	ribrepin	Oct 2017	#81
Dunkard Twp. Greene Co. Pa.	yortsed snacilbuper	Oct 2017	#75
And a couple Northeast states, lol. Adding to a post I just made.	Mediumsizedhand	Oct 2017	#77
So Cal, Torrence	Lebam in LA	Oct 2017	#80
I lived in Bible Belt central Florida and Atlanta mid 60s into 70s	MLAA	Oct 2017	#82
i did, i went to a catholic school thru ninth grade....then i went to public school and it quit.	spanone	Oct 2017	#83
Never had prayers in school - upper Midwest, '50s and '60s.	The Velveteen Ocelot	Oct 2017	#86
We did pledge every morning. Always prayers before bigger events such as graduation.	blueinredohio	Oct 2017	#87
From 1960-1964, 1968-1976 did not.	LiberalFighter	Oct 2017	#88
Raised in northern Mn. No school prayers.	old guy	Oct 2017	#89
In public elementary school in Florida from about 1958 through early 60s,	Nay	Oct 2017	#92
Mobile, Alabama in 1978.	Mariana	Oct 2017	#94
Seldom. NE Ohio	Doremus	Oct 2017	#95
Georgia 50s-60s no prayers	recovering_democrat	Oct 2017	#97
It was done in the 1950's, and then at least until 1961, as we read from the Bible when I was 12. It	WinkyDink	Oct 2017	#98
Yes, but I went to Catholic schools	Retrograde	Oct 2017	#100
We had prayer in 50s elementary school sometimes	vlyons	Oct 2017	#101
Milwaukee, 1970s-1980s. We did, however, sing very religious songs at the Christmas program	Still In Wisconsin	Oct 2017	#102
Rural south central PA	hvn_nbr_2	Oct 2017	#103
60s and 70s	mantis49	Oct 2017	#104
Mid- to late 80s - town in GA about 70 miles north of FL	Iris	Oct 2017	#105
80s-90s Buckle of the Bible Belt	blur256	Oct 2017	#106
Arizona. Same time.	Horse with no Name	Oct 2017	#108
Montgomery, Alabama, in the early 60s	LastLiberal in PalmSprings	Oct 2017	#109
I started school in the 1950s	left-of-center2012	Oct 2017	#110
Connecticut (suburban NYC) in the 50s	kskiska	Oct 2017	#111
In 1953 my 3rd grade teacher	frogmarch	Oct 2017	#112
50's in Eastern PA.	Greybnk48	Oct 2017	#113
East coast--daily prayer and/or bible readings in public elementary school.	tblue37	Oct 2017	#114
Prayer: How to do nothing and still think you're helping.	yortsed snacilbuper	Oct 2017	#115
Wow, gotta remember that one.	eppur_se_muova	Oct 2017	#145
They had prayers in Texas schools long after the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional	struggle4progress	Oct 2017	#116
Oh yeah..	mountain grammy	Oct 2017	#117
Grew up in the south. And nope.	cwydro	Oct 2017	#118
We did that in Indiana	customerserviceguy	Oct 2017	#121
I attended K through 3 in Connecticut in the early 60s	musette_sf	Oct 2017	#122
No prayer ever.	Doreen	Oct 2017	#123
I don't think we ever did in Spokane in the 50's and 60's.	leftyladyfrommo	Oct 2017	#124
This message was self-deleted by its author	DLevine	Oct 2017	#125
I did	quaker bill	Oct 2017	#127
oh hell no!!...and my grand dtrs were attending school in Tenn....	samnsara	Oct 2017	#128
Only in first grade	Freddie	Oct 2017	#129
Stand for Moment of Silence Count?	HockeyMom	Oct 2017	#130
70s to mid / late 80's Public School	JustAnotherGen	Oct 2017	#131
In grade school and middle school in the fifties, we started the morning with a Bible quote,	appleannie1943	Oct 2017	#132
Nashville, Tn	scarletlib	Oct 2017	#133
WV 1950s	cyclonefence	Oct 2017	#134
Up to Ohio in 1963	Mendocino	Oct 2017	#136
A small town in NE OK 1965-1978	Runningdawg	Oct 2017	#137
I was in public schools in Illinois	CanonRay	Oct 2017	#138
1976, Columbus Ohio	teenagebambam	Oct 2017	#139
I was in elementary school in Upstate NY in the '60s and I remember exactly when it stopped	Rhiannon12866	Oct 2017	#141
First grade. 1962. Lawrence MA.	maveric	Oct 2017	#142
Well, being in Catholic schools from kindergarten (1959) to 1968.............	raven mad	Oct 2017	#143
Never in public school	BainsBane	Oct 2017	#144
None	Meowmee	Oct 2017	#146
Catholic school? Yes. Normal school? No. (n/t)	Iggo	Oct 2017	#148

Response to Mediumsizedhand (Original post)

Fri Oct 27, 2017, 06:58 PM

mercuryblues (11,883 posts)

1. 60's and 70's

too. Northeast coast. Never had prayer in school either,

Please tell me, who did prayer in schools. I was 60's-70's west coast and we did not do prayer in

1. 60's and 70's

2. Probably nearly all of us (prior to exams)...

12. Pledge of allegiance, yes. Took me a second to get your joke. Funny.

3. Western Canada

13. Really? And not a Christian school. Interesting. Thanks.

68. Yup

4. 50's and 60's midwest. We sometimes had prayer at school events.

5. 60's/70's in Texas and the Midwest

6. NYC Metro area

7. I did, 60s and 70s

14. Lol.

8. Never but i think kids were allowed to form prayer groups/clubs

9. Yes with an *. We had a benediction at graduation. Late 1970's in

10. public schools from 1984-1996

126. Same here 83-95 pledge every day, no prayer.

11. Macon Georgia

16. Ok. Thanks. I had heard some southern states did prayer.

26. Later maybe?

28. That is the feeling I have been getting. Not that it is "back" to prayer.

61. Right, I've heard that for a long time: that prayer was "taken out of schools."

64. Well, not seeing a lot of 40's like my father, but some 50's and they didn't have it.

96. It's a lie in any case.

119. Not my southern state.

120. I am seeing that. Looks like a scattered few in the South and surprising scattered few

85. Oh, bless your heart. I lived there for 3 years in early 1980s. Called my office in

93. So sorry

15. Heck I was mostly in Mississippi and we didn't.

17. Ok. So some southern states did not. Good to hear.

18. I did, mountain west

19. At football games but not class, daily?

25. No. Just before games.

20. New England

21. Ahhh. What a story. Interesting. Ok, thanks.

22. Rural Ohio, 60s-70s, daily prayer over the PA in elementary school.

23. Early 60's NYC

24. Graduated in 1970 - we had prayer in school until the Supreme Court ruled it out

30. Interesting. Thanks.

27. 70's Austin, TX

29. Not in my public school

31. 50s, 60s Philly

32. Delaware 70's - nope

35. Keeping Christ out of classrooms is another argument.

33. Thank you all, this is interesting. I appreciate the participation.

34. No. Upstate New York.

36. 50's and 60's in a Florida public school, yes, with the Lord's Prayer proscribed, until the

78. Eastern Shore of Maryland - yes, in the late 50's and 1960.

37. Western PA -

135. Western PA here too and the same.

38. Phila. 'Burbs

39. I was in Chicago burbs and didnt see it. Further, we knew very well..

42. I also remember being taught church/state separation

40. Late 50's-late 60's north shore LI 85% Jewish neighborhood: no prayers.

41. Colorado, 60s-70s--never.

47. Me, too. Like that would do anything.

43. I win the thread I guess :(

49. Wow. Thanks.

44. I went to public summer schools in the 60s when they had real summer school.

45. Atlanta, Georgia and no praying.

46. We didn't have prayer but our fourth grade teacher passed out these 3 x 5 cards on which we told

51. Gasp, no way. Lol. Wow.

53. My parents didn't go to church but I went to three different ones until I stopped going in middle

73. I had the same thing

79. Easter was the only time I can remember enjoying church. I thought church was more social than

84. Russian Orthodox Easter is a trip!

90. It sounds like it was a good time to be in the church-a real sense of history too.

91. Good times

99. Yes, I agree. I still like spring though!

48. Iowa in 60' and 70's - no praying in city schools, can't speak for rural schools.

50. Not in Kansas.

52. See, that is what my father in the earlier years, and my experience was. Separation.

107. My experience exactly.

140. You are right.

147. well, i don't remember

54. I did

55. NJ late '50's and early '60's

56. In public school in Arkansas in the 60s and 70s.

57. I started kindergarten in 1970 in St. Louis, we did not do any prayers.

62. No way. I have not heard of such a thing.

58. 60s-70s for both myself and older sister