Engel v. Vitale
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 3, 1962 Decided June 25, 1962
Full case name: Steven I. Engel, et al. v. William J. Vitale, Jr., et al. Citations: 370 U.S. 421; 82 S. Ct. 1261; 8 L. Ed. 2d 601; 1962 U.S. LEXIS 847; 20 Ohio Op. 2d 328; 86 A.L.R.2d 1285 Prior history: 191 N.Y.S.2d 453 (Sup. Ct. 1959), aff'd, 206 N.Y.S.2d 183 (App. Div. 1960), aff'd, 176 N.E.2d 579 (N.Y. 1961) Subsequent history: 186 N.E.2d 124 (N.Y. 1962)
Holding
Government-directed, denominationally neutral and non-mandatory prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice: Earl Warren Associate Justices: Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, William O. Douglas, Tom C. Clark, John Marshall Harlan II, William J. Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White
Case opinions
Majority by: Black Joined by: Warren, Douglas, Clark, Harlan, Brennan Dissent by: Stewart Frankfurter and White took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I

Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools. Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion Together with the Free Exercise Clause, (or prohibiting the free exercise thereof), these two clauses make up what are commonly known as the religion clauses. ... For the swing saxophonist and occasional singer, see Earle Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was a California district attorney of Alameda County, the 20th Attorney General of California, the 30th Governor of California, and the 14th Chief Justice of the United States (from 1953 to 1969). ... Hugo Black Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ... Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. ... Thomas Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899 – June 13, 1977) was United States Attorney General from 1945 to 1949 and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1949-1967). ... John Marshall Harlan II (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an American jurist. ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... Byron Raymond White (June 8, 1917 – April 15, 2002) won fame both as a football running back and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... “First Amendment” redirects here. ... // The United States Reports, the official reporter of the Supreme Court of the United States Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral form which will... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... School prayer in its most common usage refers to state sanctioned prayer by students in state schools. ... The term public school has three distinct meanings: In the USA and Canada, elementary or secondary school supported and administered by state and local officials. ...

Background of the case

The case was brought by the parents of students at Herricks High School who complained the prayer to "Almighty God" contradicted their religious beliefs. They were supported by groups opposed to the school prayer including rabbinical organizations, Ethical Culture, and Judaic organizations. The prayer in question was: Herricks High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school with 1326 students and 130 teachers, accredited by the New York State Board of Regents and the Middle States Association. ...

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

The plaintiffs argued that opening the school day with such a prayer (even if students are not required to recite it) violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (as applied to the states through the Fourteenth), which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The governments of twenty-two states^[1] signed on to an amicus curiae brief urging affirmance of the New York Court of Appeals decision that upheld the constitutionality of the prayer. The American Ethical Union, the American Jewish Committee, and the Synagogue Council of America each submitted briefs urging the Court to instead reverse and rule that the prayer was unconstitutional. The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ... “First Amendment” redirects here. ... Incorporation of the Bill of Rights is the legal doctrine by which portions of the U.S. Bill of Rights are applied to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. ... Amendment XIV in the National Archives The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (Amendment XIV) is one of the post-Civil War amendments (known as the Reconstruction Amendments), first intended to secure rights for former slaves. ... Amicus curiae (plural amici curiae) is a legal Latin phrase, literally translated as friend of the court, that refers to a person or entity that is not a party to a case that volunteers to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to... The Court of Appeals is New Yorks highest appellate court, created in 1847, replacing the Court for the Trial of Impeachments and the Correction of Errors. ... The Ethical Culture Movement is a non-sectarian, ethico-religious and educational movement. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Synagogue Council of America was an organization of American Jewish synagogue associations, founded in 1926, including : The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox) The Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox) The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (Conservative) The Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative) The Union of American Hebrew Congregations (Reform...

The decisions

The court decided that government-directed prayer in public schools was an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause. This was decided in a vote of 6-1, with Justice White unable to participate because he was not yet a member of the court during oral arguments and Justice Frankfurter not participating for unknown reasons.

Black's majority opinion

Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, argued the importance of separation between church and state by giving a lengthy history of the issue, beginning with the sixteenth century in England. He then claimed the prayer is a religious activity by the very nature of it being a prayer. The majority further ruled that prescribing such a religious activity for school children violates the Establishment Clause. The program, created by government officials to promote a religious belief, is therefore impermissible. Hugo Black Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ...

In response to the defendant's claims that: (a) people respect any specific established religion; and (b) the prayer is voluntary, Black's opinions held that neither of these claims frees it from contradicting the Establishment Clause. The opinion held that the fact that it promotes a religion is sufficient to conclude it is in violation, even if that promotion is not coercive. Furthermore, the opinion held that the fact that the prayer is vaguely worded enough not to promote any particular religion is not a sufficient defense, as it still promotes a family of religions (those that recognize "Almighty God"), which is also a violation of the Establishment Clause.

Stewart's dissent

In his dissent, Stewart argued the historical background regarding England, the Book of Common Prayer, and the separation of church and state is irrelevant since England had then and has now an established religion. He said nobody is trying to establish a state church, as England had done; rather, the real issue is whether they will prohibit those who want to begin their day at school with prayer from doing so. Moreover, he argued that phrases like "the wall of separation" are nowhere in the Constitution and Black used them uncritically. For the novel, see A Book of Common Prayer. ...

Stewart then listed the religious references present at the top of all three branches of the federal government and on American coins, in the National Anthem, in the Pledge of Allegiance, and in one of the court's recent decisions (Zorach v. Clauson). He argued that neither these examples, nor the voluntary prayer in New York established a religion. The Pledge of Allegiance is a promise or oath of allegiance to the United States and the its national flag. ... Holding Court membership Case opinions Zorach v. ...

Subsequent history

Engel became the basis for several subsequent decisions limiting government-directed prayer in school. In Wallace v. Jaffree (1985), the Supreme Court ruled Alabama's law permitting one minute for prayer or meditation was unconstitutional. In Lee v. Weisman (1992), the court prohibited clergy-led prayer at high school graduation ceremonies. Lee v. Weisman, in turn, was a basis for Santa Fe ISD v. Doe (2000), in which the Court extended the ban to school sanctioning of student-led prayer at high school football games. Holding Just as the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking are complementary components of a broader concept of individual freedom of mind, so also the individuals freedom to choose his own creed is the counterpart of his right to refrain from accepting the creed established... Holding --- Court membership Case opinions Laws applied --- Lee v. ... Santa Fe Independent School Dist. ...

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 370
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Separation of Church and State in the United States
• West Virginia Board of Ed. v. Barnette (1943)
• Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
• Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)

This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 370 of the United States Reports: , 370 U.S. 1 (1962) , 370 U.S. 9 (1962) , 370 U.S. 19 (1962) , 370 U.S. 31 (1962) , 370 U.S. 41 (1962) (per curiam) , 370 U.S... This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. ... The separation of church and state is a legal and political principle derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . ... Holding The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is incorporated against the states. ... Holding For a law to be considered constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the law must have a legitimate secular purpose, must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and must not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion. ... Holding Just as the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking are complementary components of a broader concept of individual freedom of mind, so also the individuals freedom to choose his own creed is the counterpart of his right to refrain from accepting the creed established...

References

External links

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Engel v. Vitale

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