Engel v. Vitale, 370 US 421 (1962)

FACTS:

• The Board of Education of Union Free School District of New York, directed the School District's principal to cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher 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." This daily procedure was adopted on the recommendation of the State Board of Regents, which supervises the State's public school system. The parents of 10 pupils brought the action in a New York State Court insisting that use of this official prayer in the public schools was contrary to the beliefs, religions, or religious practices of both themselves and their children. They argued that the School cannot order the recitation of the prayer because it violates that part of the First Amendment of the Federal Constitution which commands that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion".  The school contended that the prayer is “non-denominational” and does not require all students to recite the prayer. Those who wish to opt from reciting may remain silent.

 
ISSUE/S:           
   Whether the New York law adopting the practice of reciting the Regent’s prayer in public schools violates the (Non)Establishment Clause.
 
RULING:  
 - YES.          The majority, via Justice Black, held that school-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment There can be no doubt that New York's state prayer program officially establishes the religious beliefs embodied in the Regents' prayer. The argument to the contrary, which is largely based upon the contention that the Regents' prayer is "non-denominational" and the fact that the program does not require all pupils to recite the prayer but permits those who wish to do so to remain silent or be excused from the room, ignores the essential nature of the program's constitutional defects. The New York laws officially prescribing the Regents' prayer are inconsistent both with the purposes of the Establishment Clause and with the Establishment Clause itself.