Christian Message Boards: Court in History~Engel v. Vitale (1962)

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Posted by WildB (Member # 2917) on :

82 Supreme Court Reporter, p. 1261-1277

370 U.S. 421

STEVEN I. ENGEL ET AL., PETITIONERS, V. WILLIAM J. VITALE, JR., ET AL.

Argued April 3, 1962.

Decided June 25,1962.

Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the Court.

The respondent Board of Education of Union Free School District No. 9, New Hyde Park, New York, acting in its official capacity under state law, directed the School District's principal to cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of each school day:

''Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.''

This daily procedure was adopted on the recommendation of the State Board of Regents, a governmental agency created by the State Constitution to which the New York Legislature has granted broad supervisory, executive, and legislative powers over the State's public school system. These state officials composed the prayer which they recommended and published as a part of their ''Statement on Moral and Spiritual Training in the Schools,'' saying: ''We believe that this Statement will be subscribed to by all men and women of good will, and we call upon all of them to aid in giving life to our program.''

[1] Shortly after the practice of reciting the Regent's prayer was adopted by the School District, the parents of ten pupils brought this action in a New York State Court insisting that use of this official prayer in the public schools was contrary to the beliefs, religions, or religious practices of both themselves and their children. Among other things, these parents challenged the constitutionality of both the state law authorizing the School District to direct the use of prayer in public schools and the School District's regulation ordering the recitation of this particular prayer on the ground that these actions of official governmental agencies violate that part of the First Amendment of the Federal Constitution which commands that ''Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion''—a command which was ''made applicable to the State of New York by the Fourteenth Amendment of the said Constitution.'' The New York Court of Appeals, over the dissents of Judges Dye and Fuld, sustained an order of the lower state courts which had upheld the power of New York to use the Regent's prayer as a part of the daily procedures of its public schools so long as the schools did not compel any pupil to join in the prayer over his or his parents' objection. We granted certiorari to review this important decision involving rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

[2] We think by using its public school system to encourage recitation of the Regents' prayer, the State of New York has adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with the Establishment Clause. There can, of course, be no doubt that New York's program of daily classroom invocation of God's blessings as prescribed in the Regents' prayer is a religious activity. It is a solemn avowal of divine faith and supplication for the blessings of the Almighty. The nature of such prayer has always been religious, none of the respondents has denied this and the trial court expressly so found:

''The religious nature of prayer was recognized by Jefferson and has been concurred in by theological writers, the United States Supreme Court and state courts and administrative officials, including New York's Commissioner of Education. A committee of the New York Legislature has agreed.

''The Board of Regents as amicus curiae, the respondents and intervenors all concede the religious nature of prayer, but seek to distinguish this prayer because it is based on our spiritual heritage. * * *''

www.greatsource.com/amgov...evv_1.html

Posted by WKUHilltopper (Member # 5472) on :

Really seems like our country started to ramp down the tubes about that time too. Look out far (in the dump) we've come in this country since '62!