Engel V Vitale Essay

In 1951, the New York State Board of Regents gave their approval for a prayer that was to be said every morning in school, along with the Pledge of Allegiance ("Engel v. Vitale (1962)"). The Regents believed this prayer would encourage children to be good citizens, along with other benefits such as developing good character. Although this prayer was not required, many students and parents were opposed to the idea and decided to fight against it. In 1962, a group of angry parents reached the Supreme Court and Engel v. Vitale took place. The parents argued that the school prayer violated the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court ruled in their favor. Engel v. Vitale is a very controversial Supreme Court case, but the Court definitely made the right decision. The separation of church and state is a fundamental part of the United States and it needs to be reinforced and preserved, which is exactly what Engel v. Vitale did. After World War II, many people in the U.S. were concerned about communism in
Vitale was a complicated court case that involved many different people. Steven Engel, all the other angry parents, the New York Board of Regents, the school board president named William Vitale, Justice Hugo Black, and all the judges in the lower courts played a part in this case. The case originated in Hyde Park, New York, in the Union Free School District No. 9. Although everything began in 1958, the Supreme Court didn’t hear and decide on the case until 1962. Engel v. Vitale became a Supreme Court case because many parents disagreed with prayer in school very strongly. The New York Board of Regents felt like they were helping the students become better citizens, but the parents felt like the prayer was unconstitutional and wrong. Religion is a very touchy subject, and clearly many people were offended by the prayer. It was risky for a state agency to write and approve a prayer in the first place, and people felt it was incorrect, so they took it to