Cantabrigians Will Welcome Prayer Statute

Cantabrigians will welcome voluntary prayer in the public schools when it is revived by state order today, a survey of passersby showed yesterday.

Most defended school prayer as necessary in an age of moral decay.

"There's too much dope and LSD, too much speed and hashish in the schools. No one has any morals, and no one's religious--they're all hedonists," Louie Musolini said as he leaned out the window of his Yellow Cab near Central Square. "This is a good idea, as long as everyone can pray in their own religion."

"It's extremely difficult to control. I suppose you just have to trust the teachers not to intervene and 'correct' someone's prayers," Jody Gibson said.

"For all the worrying people do about being indoctrinated, it is a really hard thing to do--Americans are the most stubborn people there are," she added.

Lillian Denicoff said she opposes prayer in the schools strictly on philosophical grounds. "If people want to go to church and pray privately, that's all right. But I believe in separation of church and state," Denicoff said.

Those who worry about children being influenced have little to fear, Tony Dinofrio said. "The grammar school kids won't understand, and the high school kids won't care anyway," Dinofrio, a recent high school graduate, said yesterday.

Mary Jane Williams said she worries about mixing religion and scholarship, but added "if it could possibly do any good in instilling the moral values kids are missing, then what the heck."