Engel Vs. Vitale Case Summary

The appeals court decision came almost 40 years to the day after the Supreme Court decision in Engel v. Vitale. In that case, the court ruled it unconstitutional for public schools to allow prayer, even though the prayer was non-denominational and students were allowed abstain from the exercise. When

Another issue has been the banning of public prayer in schools. It was decided that public prayer should be outlawed in the Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale. (Schlafly et al. 150) Some people could understand this as it is not right to make prayer mandatory in school, when there are people who don’t believe in any religion. What might get some people is what was decided in 1962 by the Supreme Court,”… even a voluntary, non-denominational school prayer led by a public school official violated the Establishment Clause of the First Ammendment.” (Merino 8) Many people might wonder why prayer in school, if held on a voluntary basis, is bad. Why shouldn’t the kids who want to participate in prayer at school not be allowed to? One reason could be that the school officials don’t want to put a target on kid’s backs. For example, if everyone but one kid did partake in prayer that kid may get bullied or questioned or at the very least feel left out. The same could be true if only one kid went to prayer, that child could feel targeted and awkward. Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, which took place in 2000, decided that any individual could pray at

Since the Declaration of Independence was drafted founding itself on individual privileges and choice, happiness and democracy, a multitude of concerns have kindled the rights disputes that we see making law an active and continually growing and interesting area of interest today. Issues arose included women suffrage, civil equality, slavery, the ability to hold a religious forum, along with many others. And, though the context and times have significantly changed with these concerns there still remains a constant struggle between state, religion, and schools. Prayer in public schools is still a topic of conversation. The giving of religious gifts to administrators and the funding of schools through tax-payer monies are

Since the founding of America, there has been concern with the church manipulating government. The separation of Church and State was to make sure the church did not become more powerful than government. In spite of wanting a separation of church and state, The United States of America became one nation under God. The earliest test of the separation of church and state with respect to education is McCollum versus Board of Education. This was a landmark case the United States Supreme Court in 1948 ended the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction. “The court case which prohibited the state from sponsoring specific prayers in public schools was Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962 by an 8-1 vote.” (Cline p) It is unconstitutional to compose a school prayer and make students repeat it daily. Although these cases protect our religious freedoms, there is some fear that expelling God from public school has adverse effects. God can still be present; teachers can lead by example and teach behaviors and ethics that

“Since prayer was removed from public school classrooms in 1962, we have had a 6-fold increase in violent crime, our divorce rate has tripled,births to single mothers have increased 5-fold, the teenage suicide rate has tripled, and SAT scores have dropped 10%.(Creation Today). Reasons that represent why prayer and moments of silence should be allowed in the public school system will be expressed. This essay will represent the affirmative stance when regarding this topic of school wide prayer and moments of silence.

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Santa Fe Independent School District V. Doe (SFISD V. Doe) case, Chief Justice Rehnquist commented, “It [the ruling] bristles with hostility to all things religious in public life” (“United”). Separating religion and state has always been a matter of concern for the United States, as shown by the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of our constitution. Although there have been many cases revolving around the relationship between the church and the state, SFISD V. Doe is among the most notable. By examining the background, reflecting on the decision, and analyzing the impact of the SFISD V. Doe case,

The case of Wallace v. Jaffree calls into question the constitutionality of an Alabama statute that authorized teachers to lead a one-minute period of silence for “meditation or voluntary” prayer in all public schools. Ishmael Jaffree, the parent of three students in the Mobile County Public School system filed a complaint that two of his three children had been “subjected to various acts of religious indoctrination,” as a result of Alabama statute 16-1-20.1 and asked for an injunction prohibiting Mobile County schools from “maintaining or allowing the maintenance of regular religious prayer services.” The purpose of Jaffree’s complaint was to prohibit the devotional services occurring in his children’s school and the consequent mockery of his children that occurred when they refused to recite the prayers to “Almighty God” (Stevens, 40). This type of law in Alabama public schools was not the first of its kind. Prior to statute 6-11-20.1, Alabama passed law 16-1-20 authorizing one minute of silence in public schools for meditation. After the authorization of statute 16-1-20.1 came 16-1-20.2, which allowed teachers to lead “willing students” in a prayer (Stevens, 40).

The issues of prayer in the school system used to be on the back burner but now it has been moved upstage, front and center. The discussion of a school prayer amendment is not so much about prayer itself but more about what kind of prayer

Teaching prayer in schools has been a controversial topic since Abington Township School District v. Schempp (1963) that removed prayer from the classroom. However, a Bible-literacy course at New Braunfels High School (NBHS) in Texas exemplifies the successful teaching of the religion without imposing it on the students. This is an ideal that would satisfy both conservative Christians and secular liberals. The consensus that David Van Biema comes to in his article “The Case for Teaching the Bible” is that schools should teach the Bible from a neutral perspective that allows students to understand the concepts behind the text’s arguments while observing and forming their own beliefs and opinions.

Ever since prayer was eradicated from the public school system, the quality of education has shown a constant statistical deterioration. Society presumes that the supernatural is nonexistent and that reality must be a dentist side based solely on man’s interpretation. By reentering prayer into school, it would acknowledge the presence of something higher than man. By granting prayer in school, a crucial standard is set. It shows students that they are more than just a clump of random cells aimlessly wandering the earth. Prayer is an action that trumpets that life is more than success. Prayer is heavily opposed because it serves as an antithesis to the beliefs of those who create the policies for the public school system (Creation Today). An underlying purpose of public education is to frame honorable civilians. The majority of the American people are

There are many trends in today’s educational world that make students feel a certain way about their schools. Today’s schools use prayer as a way to make non religious students feel uncomfortable. Prayer in school has many reasons why it should not be allowed. Prayer being allowed in school has many consequences that could turn out very bad. Some of the reasons that prayer should not be allowed in school are students could get defensive, some parents might believe in private religion, the students could have disbelief, and the school would have to have accountability.

Religion in public schooling is a major controversy proven by the fact that Americans have been debating the place of God in schools almost repeatedly since public education got its start in the country nearly two hundred years ago. As the United States becomes

One of the main arguments to keep prayer in public schools is to keep a moral setting at schools. “School prayer would result in many societal benefits. The public school system is tragically disintegrating as evidenced by the rise in school shootings, increasing drug use, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, and HIV transmission. School prayer can help combat these issues, would instill a sense of morality and is desperately needed to protect our children” (All about History 1). Also, they provide us with statistics proving that once teacher led prayer were declared unconstitutional and taken out of the schools systems, there was a steady rise in crime rates in school, teenage pregnancies, and etc. Shedwin Eliassin provides us with this information, “Our school systems aren’t doing any better since the removal of prayer in schools. In fact, some may say that the situation has gotten much worse, especially in terms of school violence. In 2007, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 5.9 percent of students carry weapons to school with them, 7.8 percent have been threatened or injured on campuses nationwide and 12.4 percent of students have been in a physical fight on school grounds at least once. The most recent studies have found that 5.3 percent of students do not go to school because they do not feel safe” (1). Finally, they argue

In our government, the balance between church and state has been carefully deliberated. The decision to keep the two separate has caused controversy, with many American’s questioning the reasoning behind “removing God from schools”. But what many people do not realize is that, despite the removal of church from state, students still have many rights when it comes to their public display of religion. Students have many rights involving practicing their religion in schools, such as the right to meet together through religious clubs or gatherings, the right to pray, and the right to take part in daily moments of silence and the pledge of allegiance.

This paper will examine the topic of prayer in school. School prayer has remained a subject of national debate in the United States. This freedom has slowly but surely been taken away from students across the country. By bringing to light the laws pertaining to prayer in schools, understanding the current situation in schools, and rewriting school policy regarding prayer, this travesty can be avoided before it grows further.