ipl-logo

Supreme Court Case Research Paper

859 Words4 Pages

Ana Garcia
AP Government
Aby
Period 4
Supreme Court Case Paper
As Arden Specter, once put it “The First Amendment freedom of religion is as important today as when the Bill of Rights was first written.” (Specter) One of the most important and most brought up clauses in the Supreme Court case, is the FIrst Amendment, it holds the most important value of the United States, freedom. The ruling in Engel v Vitale forever changed the way the establishment clause of the First Amendment was interpreted. It solidified the right to keep religion completely separate from schools and the public. And from then on, protected students writes to not have a religion in school. In the late 1940s, post World War 2 United States found itself in a shaky state. …show more content…

In the year 1951 under president Truman, New York’s board of education approved a 22 word prayer to be recited every day in the public schools of New York, 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.” (Engel) The prayer was created by the State Board of Regents, but quickly stirred up a lot of controversy as many parents felt their children’s rights were being violated. The separation of church and state is protected by the First Amendment (freedom of religion) that was made lawful to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment and having this prayer that was sponsored by the state of New York, every morning seemed to be a direct violation of that right. Although as stated before, this case wasn’t as clear cut because much of the public at the time supported encouraging religion because of the strong anti communist beliefs that many Americans …show more content…

The defendants stated that the prayer didn’t actually establish an official religion and therefore did not infringe on anyone’s religious rights. They also highlighted that the government makes other references to religion, that aren’t prosecuted as unconstitutional and therefor this prayer should be allowed too.
The decision was made by the Warren court in June of 1962. They ruled 6-1 in favor of Engel, stating that the prayer did indeed violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment and that having a prayer sponsored by the school was indeed

Show More
Related

Engel V Vitale Summary

145 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More

Earley Vs Dicenso Case Study

312 Words | 2 Pages

(2) Background Information As well as the lawsuit filed by Alton Lemon, this incident involved two other cases that fell under the same issue, Earley v. DiCenso and Robinson v. DisCenso. Both conflicts involved a state law passed, through the Non- public Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968, by the state of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. This act gave the government permission to fund religious based or parochial schools. Although the schools provided textbooks and instructional materials for secular subjects, a Pennsylvania instructor believed that this act violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” Lemon argued that that by providing this money

Read More

Engel Vs Vitale Summary

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.

Read More

Engel V. Vitale Summary

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

Read More

Engle V. Vitale: Should School Prayer Be Allowed In Public Schools?

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

Read More

What Is The Supreme Court Case Of Lemon Vs Kurtzman

753 Words | 4 Pages

" By providing specific aid to Nonpublic schools the teachers would benefit based off religious beliefs creating an inequality for others. This case was first fought at the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania but made its way to the Supreme Court due to the entanglement of religion in church and state issues. Kurtzman believed that the freedom of religion was expressed by the Nonpublic schools and therefore shouldn't affect public schools. By taking away that act of 1968 which had already passed, the funding would be eliminated

Read More

Case Study On Engel Vs Vitale Church

818 Words | 4 Pages

The teachers thought it would be a good way to help children have better morales and better religious life. In 1959, 5 parents at New Hyde Park school district filed a lawsuit against the local school board, they felt that the school prayer violated the 1st amendment of the bill of rights. The student and parents of the local school received a lot of hateful calls, letters, and remarks because they

Read More

Engel V Vitale Essay

1485 Words | 6 Pages

Taking place in 1962, Engel v. Vitale was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that raised the issue of school-sponsored prayer in public schools. Steven Engel, a New York parent, along with a group of other parents, was completely against any sort of prayer, whether voluntary or not, in public schools. Engel, a person of Jewish faith, and his group were supported by various Jewish organizations in their fight against the New Hyde Park school board. William Vitale, the president of this school board, was supported by twenty-two states through an amicus curiae brief. The case spurred from Vitale and other parents’ concerns with the fact that every day, after reciting the pledge of allegiance, students of New York State schools were given the option to recite a prayer,

Read More

Engel Vs Board Of Regents Essay

2035 Words | 9 Pages

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

Read More

Engel V Vitale

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

Read More

Ronald Reagan's View On Family Values

1377 Words | 6 Pages

Reagan argues, “The Declaration of Independence mentions the Supreme Being no less than four times. ‘In God We Trust’ is engraved in our coinage. The Supreme Court opens its proceedings with a religious invocation. And the Members of Congress open their sessions with a prayer. I just happen to believe the schoolchildren of the United States are entitled to the same privileges as the Supreme Court Justices and Congressman.

Read More

Religious Amendment Safeguards

133 Words | 1 Pages

This amendment safeguards American’s rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. By protecting our freedom of religion, the government cannot force a religion on the people and allows us to choose and practice any religion that we want to, how we want to. Since I grew up in a practicing Christian household, I can truly appreciate and place great worth in this amendment for defending my right to believe in what I want to believe in. Through protecting our freedom of speech, it allows us to speak out and voice our opinions on the government and express our feelings about political figures, laws, regulations, etc. By also protecting our right to assemble and petition, Americans can request for changes and adjustments

Read More

Establishment Clause In Schools

1170 Words | 5 Pages

The school board did violate the Establishment Clause by requiring their impressionable student council members to attend biased school-sponsored board meetings that begun with Christian prayer. The overarching rule of the Establishment Clause states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 790, S.Ct. 330,77 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1983). This clause intends to keep the church and the state separate of each other.

Read More

Prayer In Public Schools Essay

701 Words | 3 Pages

In 1962, the supreme court banned prayer from public schools. I believe a prayer is meant to have

Read More

Essay On Prayer In Public Schools

1018 Words | 5 Pages

Prayer in Public Although prayer in public is traditional, it doesn't abide by the constitution. School prayer has remained a subject in the United States throughout the 20th Century. Engel v. Vitale came around in which school prayer was in a lot of ways forbidden. However, with the passage of the Equal Access Act in 1984, some forms of school prayer were again allowed. The Department of Education now issues a guide to help school administrators crack down on congressional laws and Supreme Court decisions concerning school prayer.

Read More

More about Supreme Court Case Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document