The Supreme Court ruled that school-sponsored prayer, including the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. As a result, organized prayer was deemed unconstitutional in public schools to maintain the separation of church and state.
The Supreme Court has ruled that official prayers or religious practices organized by public schools are unconstitutional because they violate the principle of separation of church and state. However, students are allowed to pray individually or in groups as long as it is not disruptive to the school environment.
The Supreme Court decision to end mandatory school prayer in the 1962 case Engel v. Vitale was primarily influenced by the judicial philosophy of justices appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents. At that time, the Court's majority included justices appointed by Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The decision reflected a broader interpretation of the separation of church and state rather than a specific partisan agenda, although the political landscape surrounding the issue has since evolved.
The two cases most relating to school prayer are Engel v. Vitale (1962) andAbington Township School District v. Schempp (1963). The first case originated in NY and ruled that the school board could not require students to the recite a prayer they had written. Such required recitation was a form of state-mandated religion.The second case, filed by a Unitarian couple in Philadelphia, ruled that required school-sponsored reading of the Bible or the Lord's prayer was illegal.
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Engel v. Vitale that a New York State law allowing a short, voluntary prayer for recitation at the start of each school day violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Court held that by promoting a specific prayer, the state was effectively endorsing religion, thus making the practice unconstitutional in public schools. This landmark decision reinforced the principle of separation of church and state in the context of public education.
Yes, provided that it is initiated by students and that it takes place during their own free time (or at least silently - i.e. right before taking a test :). Mandatory school prayer is unconstitutional. Google "Establishment Clause" and "Free Exercise Clause"
Harvard Law School boasts the most Supreme Court justices among its alumni, at 15; Yale is second with 9 justices. Princeton has sent the most undergraduates to law school at 11.
Prayer in public schools is unconstitutional because of separation of Church and state.
A reasonable one. McCollum v. Board of Education (1948) The court found religious instruction in public schools was a violation of the establishment clause and therefore unconstitutional.
It means that the school is a Christian school, and that prayer is part of the curriculum of the school. In point of fact it is the most important of all the teachings of the school. Whatever else you learn in school it will not get you to heaven, prayer on the other hand will certainly help you along the way.
No. Not in public school at least.
Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 US 38 (1985)It was a 1985 US Supreme Court decision arising out of an Alabama case challenging the states establishment of a one minute silent prayer period at the beginning of each school day. The one minute prayer was ruled unconstitutional.