Engel v Vitale
Case Study Cheat Sheet
Facts of the Case
Students at New York public schools were required by law to start each day by saying the pledge of allegiance and a short prayer authorized by the board of regents. One student refrained from this optional prayer and their parent sued on their behalf.
Event Information
Establishment Clause in the First Amendment
Does a nondenominational prayer at the start of the school day violate the establishment clause of the first amendment?
When?
Monday, Jun 25, 1962, 04:00 PM
Where?
New York
Precedent
The precedent established was that mixing religion and government are not to be done in any circumstance, especially not at school.
Historic Signifigance
People were outraged and that prayer time was replaced with the moment of silence. It’s considered a landmark because it removed religion completely.
Significance Today
People are still upset over the ruling blaming not having prayer in school for the lack of morals. It protects all children's beliefs in school so during that moment of silence they could pray to whoever they choose to pray to.
Future Significance
In the eyes of the court this ruling will never be changed and is here to stay. In the future we could have robot schools and they could try and institute their prayer in schools but we’d kindly have them reference Engel v Vitale.