SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN SCHOOL PRAYER BY 6 TO 1 VOTE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the case of Engel v Vitale. By a vote of 6 to 1, the High Court ruled that a prayer recommended for classroom reading by the New York Board of Regents is in violation of the First Amendment*.
The prayer was opposed by the American Jewish Commission, the Synagogue Council of America and the Ethical Union. In earlier rulings by the New York courts, the prayer was acceptable "as long as parents understood their children could remain silent or be excused from the exercises."
Justice Hugo Black** wrote that in the majority view "it is no part of the business of Government to compose official prayers for any group of the American people to recite."
*First Amendment of the United States Constitution begins..."Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."
**Hugo Lafayette Black (1886-1971) was born in Clay County, Alabama & earned his LLB at the University of Alabama, 1906. HLB served in the US Army in WWI & as U.S. Senator (D-AL) 1927-1937. He was an associate justice of the USSC 1937-1971. He has been called one of the most influential justices of the 20th century.
SOURCES
"High Court Bans School Prayer," by Miriam Ottenberg, The Evening Star, June 25, 1962, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Supreme Court Says No to School Prayer," JFK+50, June 25, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
