Improving the law school classroom and experience through prayer: an empirical study.

AuthorGrenardo, David A.

ABSTRACT

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." There are approximately fifty religiously affiliated law schools in the United States. As faith-based communities, these law schools can integrate their faiths into the education they provide by, among other things, incorporating in the classroom a central characteristic of most religions--prayer.

This article includes anonymous survey responses from students at four different Catholic law schools across the nation concerning whether the students liked the fact that their professors prayed at the beginning of class. The article, based on those responses, discusses the advantages of a professor praying in the classroom, including the following: (1) prayer creates a reverent, focused, and unified classroom environment; (2) prayer gives the students a chance to enjoy a few moments of peace, gain their composure, and prepare for class; (3) prayer creates community; (4) professors model positive behavior for the students by showing that one may stay true to one's religion while still being a lawyer; (5) prayer reminds law students and professors of the world outside the law school, particularly when praying for others; (6) the power of prayer can result in positive results; (7) prayer fosters the faith-based communities that law schools promote as a plus to their students and recruits; and (8) professors can help mold law students to become better attorneys and better people. This article also discusses and responds to the real and perceived disadvantages of prayer in the classroom. Finally, the article includes recommendations for a professor who wants to incorporate prayer into the classroom.

This article concludes that the advantages of professors praying in the classroom can have profound effects on the classroom environment and the law students themselves. Any real or perceived disadvantages of praying by law professors in religiously affiliated law schools are heavily outweighed by the advantages.

INTRODUCTION I. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY A. Research Methods B. Participants C. Methods of Data Collection D. Data Interpretation: Inductive Analysis E. Reliability of the Study II. THE ADVANTAGES OF PRAYER ON THE CLASSROOM A. Prayer Creates an Atmosphere of Reverence, Focus and Unity B. Prayer Gives the Students a Moment to Reflect and Prepare for Class C. Prayer Creates Community D. Professors Model Positive Behavior for the Students E. Prayer Reminds Professors and Students of the Outside World. F. The Power of Prayer G. Prayer Fosters the Faith-Based Community of Law Schools H. Prayer Helps to Mold Law Students III. RESPONSES TO DISADVANTAGES OF PRAYER IN THE CLASSROOM A. Prayer Marginalizes or Ostracizes Students B. Law School Is Not the Appropriate Place to Pray C. Prayer Adds Another Obligation to a Professor's Class D. Prayer Wastes Valuable Class Time IV. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCORPORATING PRAYER INTO THE CLASSROOM CONCLUSION APPENDIX A INTRODUCTION

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." (1) Prayer remains a central feature of not just Christianity, but of most religions. (2)

There are approximately fifty religiously affiliated law schools in the United States. (3) As faith-based communities, these law schools can integrate their faiths into the education they provide by, among other things, incorporating prayer in the classroom. (4)

This article includes anonymous survey responses from students at four different Catholic law schools across the nation concerning whether the students liked the fact that their professors prayed at the beginning of class. (5) Of the survey respondents, 78% of the law students stated that they liked the fact that their professors prayed at the beginning of class, while only 7% disliked it, and 15% were indifferent.

These results demonstrate that an overwhelming majority of students at these religiously affiliated law schools liked the fact that their professors prayed at the beginning of class, a small percentage were indifferent, and an even smaller percentage did not like the fact that the professors prayed. These results confirm that many law students chose to attend a religious law school because of the integration of faith and legal education at these schools. Also, some law students that attend religious law schools may not be religious at all, but they expect some religious displays during their time at such law schools; thus, they remain indifferent to prayer in class. Finally, there are always some law students who will not be in favor of some approach taken by a professor, even if that act is praying in a religious law school.

The portions of the survey that stand out are the insightful and candid comments provided by the law students. These students from law schools across the country discussed a variety of the positive aspects of professors praying at the beginning of class, as well as a few negative aspects, and the students consistently mentioned similar advantages to praying.

Part I of the article provides a description of the study. Details include methodology, research participation, data collection, and data interpretation. This section also includes a brief narrative regarding the reliability of the results.

Part II of the article discusses the findings in terms of the advantages of a professor praying at the beginning of class, which include the following: (1) prayer creates a reverent, focused and unified classroom environment; (2) prayer gives the students a chance to enjoy a few moments of peace, gain their composure, and prepare for class; (3) prayer creates community and helps to unite the law students; (4) professors model positive behavior for the students by showing that one may stay true to one's religion while still being a lawyer; (5) prayer reminds law students and professors of the world outside the law school, particularly when praying for others; (6) the power of prayer can result in positive results; (7) prayer fosters the faith-based communities that law schools promote as a plus to their students and recruits; and (8) professors can help mold law students to become better attorneys and better people. Part III of this article discusses and responds to the findings of real and perceived disadvantages of prayer in the classroom, and Part IV includes recommendations for a professor who wants to incorporate prayer into the classroom.

Religiously affiliated law schools must not only educate law students about the substantive aspects of the law, but they must also encourage their law students to integrate their faith into their professional lives. Prayer by professors in law school reminds law students that their faith must be an integral part of their approach to their careers, and it demonstrates to law students that religion and law may coexist.

Despite the numerous and various positive aspects of professors praying in class, several arguments against prayer remain. For example, some surveyed students explained that prayer by a professor in the classroom might make some students uncomfortable if those students are not religious or they are not accustomed to praying in public. In response to that argument, individuals who willingly choose to attend a religiously affiliated law school should not be surprised when there are public acts of religion, such as prayer, at the law school. Several surveyed students who identified themselves as atheists or non-religious mentioned that they had expected some type of religious practice at their Catholic law schools.

Religiously affiliated law schools should be less concerned with trying not to offend their professors and law students who are not of their religion with public religious displays, such as prayer. Instead, these law schools should be more concerned with creating an educational environment that adheres to and embraces the mission of the religiously affiliated school. Prayer, a central component of many religions, helps a religiously affiliated law school accomplish that mission.

This article concludes that the advantages of a professor praying in class can have profound effects on the classroom environment and the law students themselves. Any real or perceived disadvantages of praying by law professors in religiously affiliated law schools are heavily outweighed by the advantages. Before discussing those findings concerning the advantages and disadvantages of professors praying in the law school classroom, the following section provides a description of the study.

  1. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY

    1. Research Methods

      This study explored if prayer by professors improves the classroom and law school experience. Through empirical research, this study investigated the advantages and disadvantages of prayer in private, religiously affiliated law school classrooms. Through the collection and analysis of anonymous survey results from law school students from four Catholic institutions across the nation, this study documents the profound results of the multiple advantages and scarce disadvantages of the power of prayer in a law school classroom.

    2. Participants

      I initially sent out a request to twenty-five religiously affiliated law schools--twenty-two of which are Catholic and the other three are non-Catholic Christian--to participate in the survey. A number of schools responded that they did not have any professors that prayed. One school stated that it had a professor that prayed but not at the beginning of class. Other schools did not respond at all, several declined to participate, and ultimately several stated that they would participate. Four Catholic law schools participated in the survey.

    3. Methods of Data Collection

      Each of the four Catholic law schools distributed an anonymous prayer survey to classes in which a professor at the law school prayed at the...

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