Dear Editor,
I read with interest the few opinions circulating in the newspapers in recent weeks regarding prayers at schools. These opinions, though few, vary from one extreme to another and may influence, however slightly, public opinion. One person posited that there should be a universal prayer. Another opined that there should be no prayers. Everyone has a right to freedom to share their views. And a right to freedom of religion. These are rights we are presently highly privileged to enjoy and that we all wish to continue to enjoy. This right to freedom, however, can easily be taken from us if we unwisely allow it to be. It has happened to countries like ours where there was once a time when people there were free to choose their own religion and express their thoughts about religion but where, presently, the decision to change religions, or to have no religion, or to even freely speak about religion could cost a person his or her life.
Guyana is still a part of the free world. And we want to remain that way. Let us continue to enjoy the fact that no student is being forced to pray in school nor to pray in a particular fashion in school. No student is being forced nor pressured to be in a certain religion or another. And for as long as we remain a country that contains a (very high) percentage of people who believe God exists, believe in him, and rely on him for peace, comfort, happiness and/or prosperity, let us continue to allow those people to have a chance to pray however and wherever they see fit, including in schools – even as we rightly continue to allow students to not partake in any prayers at school in which they do not feel comfortable partaking. Lest we lose them all, let us embrace all of our freedoms. If, for example, there are quite a few poor students at a school, half of which are vegetarians, should the school refuse to accept a daily donation from KFC when they offer to deliver daily chicken sandwiches for students? Similarly, should that school refuse a daily donation of vegetarian food? Half a loaf is better than none.
Inevitably, there are students who in essence wish, at school, to be exposed to one religion or another since they are exposed to none at home and are wondering curiously whether a religion or a connection with God might not be useful and profitable to them. Let us not deny children access to neither food nor God nor freedom – neither at home nor where they usually spend most of their waking lives – at school. And as far as I know the prayers being uttered at schools are already very applicable to any religion as no one specific name is used to address God in them. Guyana’s progress is highly dependent on our levels of freedom and on our levels of morality. For many, if not the clear majority, religion is both a source of knowledge regarding the ideals of morality and a source of strength to help them put those ideals into practice. As we can see already, a lack of inner strength leads to an inability to avoid giving into temptations or pressure to do things that aren’t ideal or profitable. Hence we have an increase in crime in our society. Whatever we do, let us not remove the option of prayers at schools and let us continue to embrace freedom, especially religious freedom, and lovingly and gently push each other and allow each other to be our best morally.
Let us all be gently reminded of the last verse of our national song in which we the singers implore God to guard our motherland (which so far seems properly guarded as requested). This verse reflects our theistic fibre and yet also our ingrained notion of freedom – “Dear Land of Guyana, to you will we give our homage, our service each day that we live; God guard you, great Mother, and make us to be more worthy our heritage land of the free.”
Sincerely,
John M. Fraser LL.B
