Engel Vs Vitale Case Study

Engel v. Vitale

In 1962, the New York Law approved a prayer that sent the country into chaos. It all began when the New York Board of Regents authorized a short prayer that students would recite along with the Pledge of Allegiance. According to the school, the prayer was voluntary and non-denominational. The prayer read, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and beg Thy blessings upon us, our teachers, and our country." Many parents revolted and argued that the voluntary prayer was against their religious beliefs. One group of parents, lead by Steven Engel, took the case to court, claiming that the prayer violated the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment. Two major questions were argued in this court case. The first question
is whether schools can require students as well as teachers to recite a pre-written prayer. Even though the prayer was voluntary as well as non-denominational, if a student decided not to take part in the paryer, they would have to leave the room. Some parents felt that the students were being judged by teachers and children if they chose to leave the room.
The second question of the case is whether or not the reading of the prayer violates the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits laws that respect an establishment of religion by congress. Some parents argued that by having the students and teachers recite the prayer, the public was showing that the government was “respecting an establishment of religion”. The case began when Lawrence Roth, a parent of a student attending school in the Herricks School District, organized a group of parents who believed that the school prayer was wrong and unconstitutional. This group included Roth, Monroe Lerner, David Lichtenstein, Leonore Lyons and Steven Engel. Because the plaintiffs were listed alphabetically, Engle’s name would become the most well known. This group hired William Butler, a corporate lawyer who was also on the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also helped out the in plaintiff's suit. The ACLU was a nonprofit organization that helped out in certain court cases dealing with the bill of rights. The state hired Bertram Daiker, who was the school board’s attorney, for the defence. Another group of parents, led by Henry Hollenberg,
supported the school boards prayer policy and they decided to get involved in the case. This group hired Porter Chandler, an experienced attorney who was representing the Catholic Church. The case was first heard in 1959 in a small county courthouse in Nassau County. The case was deliberated and six months after it the case was sent in, Judge Bernard Meyer released the decision. The school district had won. Despite all this, Butler was positive. He believed that an early loss may lead to an even bigger win later. Butler then took the case to the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court as well as the New York State Court of Appeals, where the court ruled with the school board yet again. Finally the Supreme Court voted to hear the case on December 2,1961, but the case was not set to be argued until April 3, 1962. While the plaintiffs were waiting for the case to be heard another court case outlawed the Pennsylvania Public School Act. This Act required children in schools to recite ten Bible verses at the start of the school day. The state of Pennsylvania had amended the act so that if children did not want to participate they could leave the room. The court case, Abington School District vs. Schempp, ruled that the bible reading was unconstitutional. This ruling gave Butler and the plaintiffs hope. If one parent could win against a school district, so could they. On April 3, 1962, the case was heard in the Supreme court with the arguments by Butler, Daiker, and Chandler. Butler argued that his clients were not against religion, but in fact that they were very religious and they believed that “the best safety of religion in the United States , and freedom of religion, is to keep religion out of public life.” Daiker argued that the country has always “recognized an existence of God even since the Mayflower Compact” and that the school should be allowed to keep the prayer policy. Finally, Chandler argued that his clients believed that abolishing the prayer would be “deprivation of their children’s right to share our national heritage.” Then on June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court ruled in the case. In a six to one majority opinion, the judges ruled that the Herricks School District prayer was unconstitutional. The justices in the majority included Black, Warren, Douglas, Clark, Harlan , Brennan with Justice Stewart in dissent. Justice Black wrote the opinion for the case. In his opinion he said that Herricks School District had “adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with the establishment clause.” Black went on and explained that the founders believed that religion and government should be separate and that the First Amendment was added to the constitution in order to preserve citizens’ freedom. Justice Stewart wrote the dissent for the case. Stewart believed that since the school could not allow the children to recite the poem, the school was denying the children the right of sharing in “the spiritual heritage of our nation.” The controversy of the decision spread farther than just the courtroom. The reaction from the public was immediate. There were demonstrations in front of courthouses as well as many death threats to the families of the plaintiffs. After the court decision, 117 cases came through the courts trying to establish prayer in the schools. Engel v. Vitale was just the being of court cases that dealt with the separation of church and state. On June 17, 1963, the Supreme court ruled that bible reading and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in schools was unconstitutional. This was a major step for the U.S as far as religion and politics goes. Engel v. Vitale helped to make the line between church and state just a little bit clearer. Even with the ruling from 1962, the controversy around church-state issues are still prevalent today. Some schools are still attempting to introduce prayer and bible reading. Because of Engel v. Vitale, the line between church and state is now clearer. The results of this cases will forever be engraved in history.