Engel v vitale
-Constitutional Issue: -Does the reading of a nondenominational New York Regents prayer at the start of the school day violate the "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment
-1st amendment: prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
argument
-Engel was jewish -The plaintiffs argued that opening the school day with such a prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
defendant case
-New York Acted properly and constitutionally in giving an optionally, nonsectarian prayer. -It would be an interruption into State matters for the Supreme Court to overrule the right of the Regents to form the prayer and support its recitation.
How did the ruling affect the school board?
-School sponsored prayer is unconstitutional -The Board of Regents for the State of New York approved a short, voluntary prayer for recitation toward the begin of every school day. This was an attempt to defuse the politically strong issue by removing it from the hands of local communities.
ruled
-The Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional to encourage a religion during school.
-Impact of the Court Case on the U.S:
Established the importance of separation between church and state This was the first in a progression of cases in which the Court utilized the establishment clause to dispose of religious exercises of various kinds, which had generally been a piece of public ceremonies.
Can a school make a student say a prayer?
No -State authorities may not create an official state prayer and require that it be presented in the government funded schools of the state toward the start of every school day, regardless of the fact that the prayer is mostly denominationally unbiased.
