Factors Influence the Progression of Ideology - Essay Example

The paper discusses the case with this author with regard to the topic of prayer in school. As a function of seeking to explain an ideological biography of how this belief has grown and evolved through time, the following analysis will analyze the different stages and approaches that existed within my mind up until the present time.

Before delving into the issue, it must be understood that the issue of prayer in school has been one that has been hotly contested and debated within the sphere of politics and current media during my adolescence and childhood. As a result of this fact, the perennial presence of this debate allowed me to be presented with the arguments for and against school prayer at a relatively young age. In keeping with the way in which the majority of society viewed the issue, I was led to believe that prayer in school, although representing a few key benefits, was ultimately against the separation of church and state and should not exist to any degree or level within the educational system. Rather than this being informed by a particularly atheist and/or anti-religious viewpoint, this was instead informed as a result of the impact that media and the political debate had upon my own views.

However, as I began to mature, I began to note the failures within the educational system as compared to the prior years in which it has been so successful. For instance, my parents, as well as older generations work continually discussing the devolution of the United States educational system and seeking to understand what changes could potentially be made as a means of remedying this decline. As a function of the presence of this issue and the clear and unmistakable fact that the United States educational system was merely a shell of what it was during the time of my parents and/or grandparents, my views with respect to the role of prayer in school began to change. Rather than being diametrically opposed to such an idea, I began to integrate with a level of appreciation with respect to some of the benefits that it might provide.

However, of all of the factors that influence this progression of ideology within my own life, perhaps the most important was a level of increased importance with regard to the role which religion played within my own life. As was the case of many individuals growing up in a religious home, religion did not have a personal impact on me until such a time that I began to experience religious growth and appreciation within my own life. Realizing the power and help that prayer exhibited within my own life allowed me to come to a greater level of appreciation and understanding with regard to the degree of help and power that prayer could provide within the group setting. Anyone with even a cursory level of understanding concerning the power that prayer can provide understands that group prayer is a particularly powerful means through which intercession can be provided. As such, failing to utilize such a powerful tool within the educational system is merely ignoring the cost of the free and highly successful method through which the educational system and personal development of the individual students can be maximized. All too often, within the current system, millions of dollars are poured into particular programs with little result. However, it is my firm belief, as a result of the ideological shift and progression that is been presented within this paper, the integration of this prayer in school could have a positive benefit on tens of thousands of students without any additional educational costs being incurred.