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Argumentative Essay: The First Amendment, Bill Of Rights

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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” -First Amendment, Bill of Rights
James Madison, the author of the Bill of Rights, granted every American citizen the rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition through the First Amendment. Perhaps the most controversial of these freedoms throughout history is the freedom of religion. The strength of the First Amendment was tested in the landmark case of Engel v. Vitale in which ten students spoke out against …show more content…

The defense employed the common argument that the children were given a choice on whether they wished to partake in the prayer, therefore it cannot be proclaimed unconstitutional. In an 8-1, however, the Supreme Court determined that the school prayer was in direct contradiction with the Establishment Clause which was put in place to prevent government interference with religion. The reasoning behind the court’s decision was that education is mandatory in the United States for all children, and public schools must maintain a separation from any religion. This separation from religion does not include individuals praying on their own time in a public-school environment, and religion can be an academic subject if all religions are addressed without …show more content…

Vitale was greeted with conflicting emotions. While some saw it as a victory for religious freedom, some Christians were outraged that the government shunned God by banning school wide prayer. Political and religious leaders have claimed that the case has promoted atheism and that moral values have been undermined by removing religion from public education. These people wrongly believe that the ruling outlawed all prayer in public schools when it prohibits schools from writing or choosing a specific prayer and encouraging all students to partake in reciting it. Even today, over fifty years since the case, the opposition of the ruling continues to rail against the “godless public schools” and complain about how the Supreme Court “kicked God out of the schools.” These critics blame the absence of prayer in schools for tragedies such as school shootings and drug

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The Supreme Court case of Engel v. Vitale’s decision was based on the establishment clause. The case of Engel v. Vitale struck down state organized prayer in school. The prayer had government endorsement and was thus considered unconstitutional. The Supreme Court case of Oregon v. Smith used the free exercise clause the basis of their decision.

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Engel v. Vitale: Prayer in the Public Schools is a book written by Julia C. Loren. Loren’s main purpose for writing this book is to inform us about the history of the Engel v. Vitale trial, an important trial which determined that prayer was not acceptable in the public schools quote as the book says the “In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down one of its most controversial decisions of the twentieth century.” In this book, Loren was not bias towards either Engel’s or Vitale’s side of the case as she did not appear to be very fond of one particular side and gave information regarding both sides of the case. With that being said, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history or even the Engel v. Vitale case itself because the author was very straightforward in telling about both sides of the case without leaving anything out. Engel v. Vitale:

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The issue in this case was whether school-sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violates the Establishment clause of the first amendment (Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale, n.d.). This case dealt with a New York state law that had 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 (Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale, n.d.). This law had also allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found that it was objectionable. There was a parent that sued the school on behalf of their child. Their argument was that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable

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