sixties+outside+reading

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CHE: Engel v. Vitale

In 1962, families of public school students in New Hyde Park, New York submitted complaints concerning the voluntary prayer that existed in their schools. The prayer stated, “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country, Amen.”; although school officials argued that reciting the prayer was a voluntary action, the court explained that its prevalence in school promoted religion, therefore violating the constution’s First Amendment and Establishment Clause. Though not associated with any specific religion, the practice was largely opposed by The American Ethical Union, the American Jewish Committee, and the Synagogue Council of America. This issue dates back all the way to the origin of the country, in which controversies concerning the separation of church and state were some of the first issues addressed in the United States’ principles. The case ended with Justice Hugo Black’s closing decision that a voluntary non-denominational school prayer was plainly unconstitutional. This case holds significance in that it was the first of cases in which the Establishmend Clause was violated by religious activities. Following the Engle v. Vitale case in 1985 came Wallace v. Jaffree in Alabama, concerning allotting one minute for prayer or meditation; Lee v. Weisman in 1992 concerning clergy-led prayer at high school graduation ceremonies,; and Santa Fe ISD v. Doe in 2000, which was an extention of Lee v. Weisman as it concerned student-led prayer at high school football games, all of which were banned and deemed unconstitutional by the courts.


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