Engel Vs Board Of Regents Essay

In 1951, New York Board of Regents sponsored a twenty two word school prayer. Students participating in the prayer were voluntary and could be excused with parent permission. The prayer read, “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country”. The prayer was made with generic words to appeal to many different religions and faiths. However, many parents objected to the prayer and its presence in public schools which is the reason for Engel v. Vitale.

The Board of Regents received both support and opposition. Obviously, religious groups had their own opinions on the prayer which then concluded in different denominations and religions disagreeing. Some feared the

The federal government put this in place to keep the government from establishing a national religion and to stop it interfering with state religious issues by stating in the establishment clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”. Since the schools reciting prayer in the morning were public schools run by the government, they were breaking the First Amendment. This led Steven Engel, along with other parents, suing the school for denying their First Amendment

On June 25, 1962 the Supreme Court voted 6-1 in favor of Engel that the Regents Prayer violated the First Amendment clause. Writing for the majority, Justice Hugo Black stated, “it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers” and also explaining how the prayer breaks the “constitutional wall of separation between Church and State” There is no doubt that the school's prayer was a religious act led by teachers in a public school, however there was a lot of negative backlash in response to the court's decision. Many US citizens were outraged by the decision. Although William Vitale, the board president from New York, supported the prayer, he claimed the board would follow the court's decision either way. The American public roared in their disagreement through sending letters of their disappointment to different newsletters, public officials publicly stated their outrage, and many religious leaders were in shock. Both Republican and Democrat politicians expressed their frustrations with statements such as, “officially stating it’s disbelief in God Almighty”, “Somebody is tampering with American’s soul. I’ll leave it to you who that somebody is”, and “Supreme Court has made God unconstitutional”. With many public figures making their opinions on the case known, Americans were waiting to hear from their president John F. Kennedy. Regarding his statements concerning Engel v. Vitale, Kennedy was cautious with his