Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

See Also

Barry Goldwater

Madalyn Murray O’Hair

Prayer in Schools

Supreme Court Decisions

The 1960s in America

Engel v. Vitale

by Corey Ditslear

Supreme Court case that determined that prayer in public schools violates the U.S. Constitution. In 1962, the Court ruled that a state cannot require prayer in a public school setting even if the prayer is denominationally neutral and participation in the prayer is voluntary.

Origins and History

The New York State Board of Regents recommended to a local board of education that the following prayer be recited at the beginning of each school day: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.” The parents of ten students brought legal action, claiming that this official prayer was contrary to their beliefs and religions.

The American Ethical Union and the American Jewish Committee joined the parents in arguing that the state law authorizing the school district to mandate prayer in public schools violated the First Amendment’s bar to government establishment of religion. They believed that the state-composed prayer, by invoking God’s blessing, declared a state preference for certain religious beliefs over others in violation of the First Amendment. They further contended that the voluntary and denominationally neutral character of the prayer did not prevent the prayer from exerting coercive pressure to follow officially approved religious beliefs.

Twenty-two states officially joined New York in the attempt to preserve school prayer. They argued that because the law allowed nonparticipation by students, there could be no violation of the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment. They claimed that the voluntary nature of the prayer demonstrated that the state was not forcing any religious beliefs on the students. They further argued that because the prayer was denominationally neutral, there could be no claim that the state was supporting one religion over another. Legislators such as Republican senators Barry Goldwater and Everett Dirksen went even further, stating that the Courts had no right or power to remove God from the public schools.

The Supreme Court ruled, seven to one, on June 25, 1962, that prayer in public schools violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment and cannot be required by the state. This case resolved the immediate issue concerning the prayer mandated by the State of New York but raised many new questions concerning how far the Supreme Court would extend its ruling to safeguard separation of church and state.

Impact

In 1963, the Supreme Court extended the ruling in Engel v. Vitale to prohibit Bible reading and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools. These decisions prompted a flood of letters to Congress in support of a constitutional amendment to allow voluntary school prayer. In 1964, the Republican Party platform was revised to include support for a voluntary school prayer amendment. However, in 1966, a vote on a voluntary school prayer amendment fell short of the required two-thirds majority by nine votes.

Subsequent Events

The Supreme Court continued to limit religious activity in public schools throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s despite continued public opposition.

Additional Information

Robert S. Alley has written a well-balanced book outlining the history and arguments surrounding school prayer entitled School Prayer: The Court, the Congress, and the First Amendment (1994).

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Ditslear, Corey. "Engel V. Vitale." The 1960s in America, edited by Carl Singleton, Salem Press, 1999. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=1960_4030015822.
APA 7th
Ditslear, C. (1999). Engel v. Vitale. In C. Singleton (Ed.), The 1960s in America. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Ditslear, Corey. "Engel V. Vitale." Edited by Carl Singleton. The 1960s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 1999. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.