Engel v. Vitale, 370 US 421 (1962), is the case of the United States Supreme Court that determines that it is unconstitutional for state officials to write official school prayers and encourage recitation in public schools.
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The case was brought by a family of public school students in New Hyde Park, New York, who complained that the voluntary prayer written by the state board for "God Almighty" was against their religious beliefs. Led by Steven Engel, a Jewish man, the plaintiffs tried to challenge the constitutionality of state prayer in school policy. They are supported by groups opposed to school prayer including rabbinical organizations, Ethical Cultures, and Jewish organizations. The actors are not members of one particular religion; Although registered in court letters as an atheist, plaintiff Lawrence Roth later denied it and described himself as religious but not comfortable with prayer. The five plaintiffs are comprised of three Jews and two self-proclaimed "spiritual" persons excluding organized religion. Prayer in question is:
God Almighty, we acknowledge our dependence on You, and we pray for you, our parents, our teachers and our country. Amin.
The plaintiffs argue that opening a school day with such a prayer violates the First Amendment Clause of the Constitution of the United States (as applied to states through the Fourteen), which partially says, "Congress will not make laws that respect an establishment. religion "The government of twenty-two countries signed on a short amicus curiae urging affirmance the decision of the New York Court of Appeal to uphold the constitutionality of prayer. The American Jewish Committee, the Synagogue Council of America, and the American Ethical Union each filed a directive urging the Court to reverse and decide that the prayer was unconstitutional.
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Court Opinion
In the opinion submitted by Judge Hugo Black, the Court ruled that a government-written prayer would not be read in public schools and constitutes a violation of the US Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the first amendment. It was decided in a 6-1 vote, but before a decision can be announced, Judge Felix Frankfurter suffered a brain stroke that forced him to retire, and Justice Byron White did not take part in the case.
The court explained the importance of separation between church and state by giving a long history of this problem, beginning with the 16th century in England. It then states that school prayer is a religious activity because of its nature as a prayer, and that prescribing such religious activities to schoolchildren violates the Establishment Clause. Programs, made by government officials to promote religious beliefs, are therefore not constitutionally permitted.
The court rejected the argument of the accused that people were not asked to respect a particular religion; and that prayer is voluntary. The court stated that promoting a religion alone is enough to establish a violation, even if the promotion is not forcing. The Court further stated that the fact that the prayer is not sufficient enough to promote a particular religion is not sufficient defense, as it still promotes a religious family (those who recognize "God Almighty"), who still violates the Establishment Clause..
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Source of the article : Wikipedia
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