Hopewell High School Case Study

Harel Tillinger In the case presented, Hopewell High School has a practice of saying a voluntary prayer before each football game in which the coaches may participate and these prayers take place on school grounds. A father of two football players on the team, sued the school district because his children do not participate in the team prayers and are ostracized for doing so. In the case of O’Connell v. Hopewell School District, New Jersey, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr delivers the opinion of the court. In discussing freedom of religion in this case, the key principles at odds are free exercise clause versus the establishment clause. In determining, the establishment clause one needs to consider both the participants and location of

While the players participating in a prayer service prior to the game is in accordance with the free exercise clause, ostracizing two particular players in the process of this freedom of religion should not be allowed and respect of different denominations including atheism. In Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985), an Alabama law authorized teachers one minute a day for a voluntary prayer. Ishmael Jaffree had three children who were being ridiculed due to their refusal to say the voluntary prayer. The court applied the lemon test, when a law has the effect of establishing religion, and the court determined that the school did not have a secular interest and the law was just in place to establish a religion. Wallace v. Jaffree, was first brought to court due to Jaffree’s children being ostracized by other children similar to John O’Conell’s two boys. In another case, Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000), prayers were offered before graduations and football games by a student elected chaplain. While the case being processed in district court, the school district issued another policy that permits, but does not require that all students participate in the student-led prayer. The court ruled that the football game prayers were authorized by a government policy and taking place on government property which was perceived as government establishing a religion. This case relates to O’Connell v. Hopewell School District, New Jersey because the football team is practicing on government property. Additionally, in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, since the prayers were on government property, it was perceived as a government entity establish a