Civil Rights and Liberties - United States Political History | Lecture notes Political history

Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City

Civil Rights and Liberties - POLS 1320

Winter 2022

Lecture Notes Seven

Contents: Engel v. Vitale is infamous case involving religious freedom.

Lecture Notes Seven

This First Amendment activity is based on the landmark Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale, dealing with

the line between religion and public schools. Using these talking points to start the discussion, argue

your position in answer to the question: Is school-sponsored prayer in public schools unconstitutional?

The First Amendment has two provisions concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free

Exercise Clause. Learn more about these clauses in First Amendment and religion.

Analyze the facts and case summary for Engel v. Vitale.

Build arguments for both sides, starting with these talking points.

Use critical thinking skills and share reflections on the discussion questions.

Compare Engel v. Vitale to similar cases

A New York State law required public schools to open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a

nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon God. The law

allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found it objectionable. A parent sued on

behalf of his child, arguing that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as

made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Issue:

Whether school-sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violates the Establishment

Clause of the First Amendment.

Reasoning:

The majority, via Justice Black, held that school-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause of

the First Amendment. The majority stated that the provision allowing students to absent themselves

from this activity did not make the law constitutional because the purpose of the First Amendment was

to prevent government interference with religion. The majority noted that religion is very important to a

vast majority of the American people. Since Americans adhere to a wide variety of beliefs, it is not

appropriate for the government to endorse any particular belief system. The majority noted that wars,

persecutions, and other destructive measures often arose in the past when the government involved

itself in religious affairs.

Engel v. Vitale is one of the required Supreme Court cases for AP U.S. Government and Politics. This case

resulted in the landmark decision that established that it was unconstitutional for public schools to lead

students in prayer.

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Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City Civil Rights and Liberties - POLS 1320 Winter 2022 Lecture Notes Seven Contents: Engel v. Vitale is infamous case involving religious freedom. Lecture Notes Seven This First Amendment activity is based on the landmark Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale, dealing with the line between religion and public schools. Using these talking points to start the discussion, argue your position in answer to the question: Is school-sponsored prayer in public schools unconstitutional? The First Amendment has two provisions concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free  Exercise Clause. Learn more about these clauses in First Amendment and religion.  Analyze the facts and case summary for Engel v. Vitale.  Build arguments for both sides, starting with these talking points.  Use critical thinking skills and share reflections on the discussion questions.  Compare Engel v. Vitale to similar cases A New York State law required public schools to open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon God. The law allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found it objectionable. A parent sued on behalf of his child, arguing that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Issue: Whether school-sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Reasoning : The majority, via Justice Black, held that school-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The majority stated that the provision allowing students to absent themselves from this activity did not make the law constitutional because the purpose of the First Amendment was to prevent government interference with religion. The majority noted that religion is very important to a vast majority of the American people. Since Americans adhere to a wide variety of beliefs, it is not appropriate for the government to endorse any particular belief system. The majority noted that wars, persecutions, and other destructive measures often arose in the past when the government involved itself in religious affairs. Engel v. Vitale is one of the required Supreme Court cases for AP U.S. Government and Politics. This case resulted in the landmark decision that established that it was unconstitutional for public schools to lead students in prayer.

Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City Civil Rights and Liberties - POLS 1320 Winter 2022 Lecture Notes Seven Contents: Engel v. Vitale is infamous case involving religious freedom. In 1959, a group of parents in New Hyde Park, New York, led by Steven Engel, brought suit against school board president William Vitale, arguing that the prayer violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which was applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Engel v. Vitale, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 1962, that voluntary prayer in public schools violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment prohibition of a state establishment of religion. New York state’s Board of Regents wrote and authorized a voluntary nondenominational prayer that could be recited by students at the beginning of each school day. In 1958–59 a group of parents that included Steven Engel in Hyde Park, New York, objected to the prayer, which read, “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country,” and sued the school board president, William Vitale. The prayer, which proponents argued was constitutional because it was voluntary and promoted the free exercise of religion (also protected in the First Amendment), was upheld by New York’s courts, prompting the petitioners to file a successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Engel et al. were supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and briefs were filed on their behalf by the American Ethical Union and the American Jewish Committee, while the governments of some 20 states called on the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the prayer. Oral arguments took place on April 3, 1962. The Supreme Court’s ruling, released on June 25, found New York’s law unconstitutional by a margin of 6–1 (two justices did not participate in the decision). Hugo L. Black wrote the Supreme Court’s opinion, in which the majority argued “that, by using its public school system to encourage recitation of the Regents’ prayer, the State of New York has adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with the Establishment Clause.” The lone dissent came from Potter Stewart, who argued that the majority had “misapplied a great constitutional principle” and could not understand “how an ‘official religion’ is established by letting those who want to say a prayer say it. On the contrary, I think to deny the wish of these school children to join in reciting this prayer is to deny them the opportunity of sharing in the spiritual heritage of our Nation.” The decision, the first in which the Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional public school sponsorship of religion, was unpopular with a broad segment of the American public.

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