Berkley Center

Engel v. Vitale was the first case in which the Supreme Court held prayers in public schools unconstitutional. The case involved a New York school district’s requirement that each class say a certain non-denominational prayer at the beginning of each day. The prayer was drafted by the State Board of Regents, a supervisory body of the state public schools. The parents of several students brought suit against the school district, contending that the prayer was part of a government program to further religious beliefs in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In holding the state-sponsored prayer unconstitutional, the Court stated that one purpose of the First Amendment was to prevent the government from controlling or influencing the prayers that the American people say. That the prayer was non-denominational and individual participation was voluntary did not save it from violating the Establishment Clause, which “rest[s] on the belief that a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and to degrade religion.” Laws that call for government-sponsored religious activity violate the Establishment Clause regardless of whether the government is directly coercing non-observing individuals. Further, the Court concluded that to prohibit state-sanctioned prayer in school is not anti-religious; it only recognizes that government should refrain from writing and sanctioning official prayers and leave religious activity to the people themselves.