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Rhetoric In Masterpiece Cakeshop V. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

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Religion has always played a large role in society, grounding a lot of legal frameworks through religious values. One crucial moment that underlines religion and law occurred during the Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale. The decision for the case was made in 1962 after a New York State law required a voluntary prayer to be practiced at the beginning of the school day. A parent sued on behalf of his child, arguing that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (United States Courts). Engel v. Vitale put a lot of pressure on the Supreme Court when recognizing the balance between government and religion. Jeffrey Darko authored the …show more content…

Colorado Civil Rights Commission” by Michael Eisenstadt explains Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission was decided on the narrow ground that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause (Eisenstadt, 2020). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips in a 7-2 decision that created a lot of controversy between the religious community and the LGBTQ+ community. This decision failed to answer a cardinal question of constitutional law, whether or not the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause could undermine nondiscrimination law (Eisenstadt, 2020). This means that the case did not establish whether the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment could affect the anti-discrimination laws negatively. The Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission is still considered discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and has people questioning the balance of religion in society and what is at cost. It is important to relate these Supreme Court Cases to religion having its disadvantages, including discrimination, because a court has the important task of balancing the civil rights among

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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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3094 Words | 13 Pages

Engel v. Vitale (1962) a. Constitutional Question: Did having a prayer at the start of a school day violate the clause of religion as stated in the First Amendment? b. Background Information: Engel was the parent of a student who was under the school in New York State who was in desire of a nondenominational prayer. The law states that you may take absence from it if it was objectionable. As a parent, he sued of his child.

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1682 Words | 7 Pages

At first, Engel’s case was refused by Justice Bernard S. Meyer because he concluded that school prayer did not interfere with the public’s rights under the First Amendment. Later with the time, Engel did not give up on the case and took it to the Supreme Court instead of the New York Court of Appeals where it was reviewed for the second time. Finally, on June 25, 1962, the final decision was given and it declared the law unconstitutional (“Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale” 1). The opinion of the court was 6-1 in were six of them were concurrence and one of them dissented (Skelton 1). The author of the people who were concurrence was William Orville Douglas.

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2001 Words | 9 Pages

Vitale. The case of Engel v. Vitale was brought up by a group of families from New Hyde park, New York, they were up against the voluntary prayer written by the state board to God, in other words, the study board wrote a Christian prayer up for public students who wants it. A group of parent under their leader Steven Engel(a jihadist) were not Christians and they believed this prayer contradicted their religion, they argued opening a public school with such prayer violates the clause of the first Amendment and the fourteenth amendment. At the end of this case, the court ruled government- written prayers may not be recited in public schools because it violates the first amendment. However these public school students were given a choice they were not forced to pray this prayer, moreover, this particular prayer was not sponsored by taxpayer’s money.

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426 Words | 2 Pages

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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372 Words | 2 Pages

In 1962, the Supreme Court case “Engle v. Vitale” ruled that school prayer could no longer be performed in public classrooms because it was offensive to some families’ religious beliefs. The arguments revolved around the different interpretations and understandings of the 1st Amendment that stated, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” Those opposed to school prayer claimed that it violated their personal/religious beliefs; because their children were forced to pray to a God they did not believe existed. They thought that religious activities should be separate from government policies and remain a “function to the people themselves.” On the other hand, those supporting

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734 Words | 3 Pages

Published in the National Review on November 30, 2017, David French discusses the first amendment and non discriminatory laws on the issue of a cake shop owner refusing to make a cake for a gay couple in their celebration of marriage in the the article “Stop Misrepresenting Masterpiece Cakeshop”. French argues for Jack Phillips owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop and makes very valid points against the other side stating that refusing a certain type of service that sends a message is not discriminatory or unconstitutional. He further more explains the premise of the argument and clarifies key pieces of information. For example Jack Phillips did not refuse service to the couple, French clearly states he is on the constitutional and legal side.

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

The major theme of the book “Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America?” by Mark I. Sutherland is the courts reaching pat their constitutionally delegated power and assuming a new role as legislators, even legislating in areas that Congress has no power in. Through the collected teachings and speeches contained within the book, Sutherland points out that basic freedoms, such as the freedom from legal restrictions on practicing religion guaranteed by the First Amendment, are currently under attack and have been for quite some time. From legal fallacies like the modern notion of “separation of church and state” to the all-out attack on the Bible in public, this book goes into detail as to what is being done and how it can be stopped. Sutherland

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While religion is in no way defined in these two clauses, the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, we do know that laws respecting religion 's establishment are prohibited, as are laws precluding its free exercise. The interpretation and application of the First Amendment 's religion clauses has been the peculiar province of the judiciary, especially the U.S. Supreme Court, and particularly since roughly the midpoint of the 20th century. Although several cases concerning these clauses transpired in the 19th century, the effective "making sense" of the two clauses began in the 1940s, beginning with the case of Cantwell v. Connecticut in 1940. In Cantwell, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Free Exercise Clause applied to the states as well as to the national government. However, for most of the rest of the 20th century, the primary work of the Court with the religion clauses centered on the Establishment Clause, beginning with the case of Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township, New

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1253 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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337 Words | 2 Pages

This case highlighted the First Amendment condemning any limit on free speech. However, during the case proceeding, the Court had dissents for deciding when the government may restrict the First Amendment. The case spread the fact that

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650 Words | 3 Pages

On June 25, 1962, a Supreme Court case, Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, was decided. The lawsuit was brought to the United States Supreme Court by parents (of students who attended schools in the Herricks School District) who complained that a nondenominational prayer instituted by the New York Board of Regents in their district was unconstitutional. The parents argued that the prayer, although optional, violated their First Amendment Rights. When the 6-1 (two justices did not vote) decision was made, it was ruled that voluntary prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. One concurring opinion was given, and the single judge that did not vote the same as the rest provided

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516 Words | 3 Pages

It was a 7 to 1 decision. The decision was that separate but equal was legal as long as no discrimination was shown. They believed that "so long as separate facilities were actually qualitatively equal, the constitution did not prohibit segregation in the view of the majority of the court," as stated in the second

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In the United States, there is a considerable issue that is typically overlooked: not knowing basic facts about other religions and letting the stereotypes influence how we think about the other religions. The public schools in the United States of America should have to teach religion as a required course in high school or middle school because it would fix the misconceptions and reduce discrimination against the important parts of the ever changing religious composition of the United States. A common opposition to teaching about different religions in public schools in the United States is that the public schools are funded by the government and the government cannot have a favored religion. However, in the supreme Court case Engel versus Vitale the Supreme Court send that any kind

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“Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice, it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it.” ― G.K. Chesterton Many occasions in the United States history have shown that religion has caused many controversial questions. These questions have brought the American Justice System to a running halt, leading society to begin to ponder about the importance of freedom of religion, true meanings of the free exercise and establishment clause, and if there should be limitations imposed on the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs.

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