Engel+v.+Vitale

Does a school sponsored prayer violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? In the year 1962, a case called Engel vs. Vitale occurred which stated that it is " unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools." (1) The case occurred when a public school in New York allowed a prayer to be recited during class. It caused some Jewish families to complain when they said that the "Almighty God" part in the prayer contradicted their beliefs. Many other groups (like rabbinical organizations, Ethical Culture, and Judaic organizations) followed them because they expressed similar concerns. The prayer reads, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us,  our parents, our teachers and our country." (2)

Both the state court and the New York Court of Appeals allowed the prayer to be recited. (2) Parents came to complain and sued the school for requiring the children to say this prayer. Justice Hugo Black said it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The purpose of the First Amendment was to prevent the government from interfering with religion. It caused the majority to state that the provision which allowed students to miss the prayer did not make the law constitutional. Others stated that religion is significant and important to a majority of people and that wars are started when government tries to get involved. This was one of many religious cases to violate the Establishment Clause. " Neither the voluntary nature of school prayers nor their non denominational character protected them from violating the Establishment Clause"  (2) The final decision ruled in favor of Engel which meant that saying prayers in public schools does in fact violate the Establish Clause; therefore making it unconstitutional to perform the act.



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