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School-sponsored prayer was ruled unconstitutional in 1962
Posted on: June 27, 2022 at 09:49:16 CT
SparkyStalcup MU
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because it violates the rights of students who don't want to pray or want to pray to someone one else. Engel V. Vitale (1962)
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/370/421/
The argument is that the school-sponsored prayer violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
This was affirmed in Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) where Alabama schools had instituted a mandated one-minute silent prayer or meditation break.
Also affirmed in Lee v. Weisman (1992) where students were forced to sit through clergy-led prayer at middle school graduation ceremonies.
Also affirmed in Santa Fe ISD v. Doe (2000) where the court banned student-led school sponsored prayer at high school football games.
The argument is that by the school sponsoring a prayer, whether school led or student led, this establishes religion and government is specifically prohibited from doing this.
Students have always been able to pray on their own, or even in their own groups as long as everyone in the group agrees to do that (note: this means 100% of the group, not majority rule, as was the basis for Sante Fe ISD).
I tend to agree that the coach's right to pray whereever he wants to is his right, as long he does it individually and isn't coercing his playing to join in by promising more playing time (or less playing time to those who refuse to join him in prayer). In fact, there was at least one instance with this coach where a player was alleging just that. If a coach was coercing players to pray or playing favorites with his praying players over his non-playing players, then he rightly should have been fired.
EDIT: I remember Wallace quite vividly as I graduated from high school in June 1986, and this ruling came down right at the end of my junior year in 1985.
Edited by SparkyStalcup at 09:51:50 on 06/27/22
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/370/421/
The argument is that the school-sponsored prayer violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
This was affirmed in Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) where Alabama schools had instituted a mandated one-minute silent prayer or meditation break.
Also affirmed in Lee v. Weisman (1992) where students were forced to sit through clergy-led prayer at middle school graduation ceremonies.
Also affirmed in Santa Fe ISD v. Doe (2000) where the court banned student-led school sponsored prayer at high school football games.
The argument is that by the school sponsoring a prayer, whether school led or student led, this establishes religion and government is specifically prohibited from doing this.
Students have always been able to pray on their own, or even in their own groups as long as everyone in the group agrees to do that (note: this means 100% of the group, not majority rule, as was the basis for Sante Fe ISD).
I tend to agree that the coach's right to pray whereever he wants to is his right, as long he does it individually and isn't coercing his playing to join in by promising more playing time (or less playing time to those who refuse to join him in prayer). In fact, there was at least one instance with this coach where a player was alleging just that. If a coach was coercing players to pray or playing favorites with his praying players over his non-playing players, then he rightly should have been fired.
EDIT: I remember Wallace quite vividly as I graduated from high school in June 1986, and this ruling came down right at the end of my junior year in 1985.
Edited by SparkyStalcup at 09:51:50 on 06/27/22
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School-sponsored prayer was ruled unconstitutional in 1962 - SparkyStalcup MU - 6/27 09:49:16