Prayer at Public School Events Term Paper

Prayer at Public School Events

During the last few years there has been passionate debates concerning prayer in public schools and at public school events. Advocates believe that it is not only a moral issue but prohibition of prayer in public schools denies their right of freedom of religion, while opponents claim it is a violation of separation of state and church.

In fact, over recent decades, one of the most litigious areas of the First Amendment has been religion (Prayer pp). The United States Supreme Court has ruled in more than twenty cases concerning prayer, religion in schools, public access for religious purposes, and the observance of religious holidays in public places, to name but a few (Prayer pp).

In Engel v. Vitale, 1962, the United States Supreme Court held with Engel and ruled that the state could not require the recitation of a formal prayer in public schools (Prayer pp). Steven Engel had objected to his child being required to recite a prayer and contended that the state law was unconstitutional (Prayer pp). Justice Hugo Black stated that the government should never use its power "to control, support, or influence the kinds of prayer the American people can say" (Prayer pp). In 1985, the Supreme Court extended its decision in Engel to overturn the state-required daily public school reading of ten verses from the Bible in Pennsylvania and the daily Bible reading and Lord's Prayer in Maryland (Prayer pp). That same year the Court also struck down an Alabama law that required silent prayer in schools (Prayer pp).

In Lee v. Weisman, 1992, prayer at graduation ceremonies came under attack (Prayer pp). The U.S. Supreme Court held that a prayer at public school graduation violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment, stating "The First Amendment's religion clauses mean that religious beliefs and religious expression are too precious to be either proscribed or prescribed by the state" (Prayer pp). In 2000, the Court ruled in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Jane Doe, struck down the school district's policy regarding prayer at athletic events, stating "... The Constitution demands that schools not force on students the difficult choice between whether to attend these games or to risk facing a personally offensive religious ritual" (Prayer pp).

In the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Bush administration addressed the issue of school prayer and amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require school administrators to comply with constitutional protections of prayer in public schools (Religion pp). The Act requires that each school certify…