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Essay On The Supreme Court Case Of Engel Vs. Vitale

1253 Words6 Pages

A group takes a stand against the merging of church and school, in the Engel vs. Vitale court case, causing an outrage among the population of America. The Engel vs. Vitale court case was seen as a landmark in U.S Supreme Court cases, due to the case causing a significant disturbance in America, that ruled school-sponsored prayers to be in violation of The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The U.S Supreme Court is known as the highest federal court in the United States, which also means that the Engel vs. Vitale court case had to have been heard at least one other time before reaching the Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court case, Engel vs. Vitale, a group of parents sued their children’s public school due to a New York State law …show more content…

“...they serve to advocate religion in violation of... the First Amendment...” (Court) This quote is saying that the school’s prayer was seen as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because of the government's involvement in all public schools. In the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, it states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This reinforced that the Engel vs. Vitale court case was caused by a violation of the First Amendment, since the morning prayers could be seen as prohibiting. Moreover, this led to a notable disruption in America at the time and led to many affronted Americans. “... more difficult Establishment Clause cases involve government assistance or approval of religion...” (Brannen) This quote is saying that, just like other cases that involve the Establishment Clause, the public school’s composed prayer was seen as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment due to the government's assistance in all public schools. This quote also reinforces that the court case influenced America by changing how much the church, and religion, were influenced in public schools. Consequently, leading to the acceptance of …show more content…

Vitale court case caused many Americans to be scandalized due to the final decision of the U.S Supreme Court. The final decision of the Supreme Court on the Engel vs. Vitale court case ruled it unconstitutional for a composed school prayer, and its recitation, to be encouraged in public schools. “...provoked… outrage… attempts to overturn it… attacks... than perhaps any other decision in Supreme Court history...” (Lain) This quote is saying that the final decision of the Supreme Court caused a scandal throughout America because Americans thought the Supreme Court was banning all prayer from public schools, though they only banned required participation in the prayer. This also reinforces that the Engel vs. Vitale court case caused an outrage due to the final decision of the Supreme Court on the court case, which lead to a lot of media coverage. However, this scandal impacted America even more than at first because of how the separation of church and school eventually affected America in the future. “... the decision set off a firestorm of public opinion… some argued that the church and the state are already hopelessly intertwined… others thought that the government should have no part in facilitating religious...” (“Engel v. Vitale”) This quote is also saying that there were many public opinions on the case, which supports that the court case, Engel vs. Vitale, impacted America both at the time of the court case and even years later.

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