According to the Free Exercise clause “everyone is allowed to practice their religion”, though there are some limitations. One specific place where this clause is controversial is in public schools. Obviously in private schools there is no rule against prayer, however in public schools it is unclear where to draw the line. Gene Johnson wrote about a case where a Washington public high school football coach brought his team onto the field after every game to pray. Joe Kennedy, the coach, was asked by the school district to stop his prayers, but he proceeded to do them, so he was fired. Eventually Kennedy sued, saying that his religious rights were violated. The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals decided that his prayers were not protected free speech, because he was working as a public employee while leading the prayers. This case in particular did not reach the supreme court, but it did catch the eye of the nation. For years our country’s legal system has covered many cases on praying in school and it is clear where they lie: Praying in public schools violates the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses.
There have been a few cases regarding this issue that have made it all the way to the supreme court, two of which were clear in their verdict, proving exactly how the court views the topic. The first case of the two occurred in 1962: Engel vs. Vitale. According to Oyez, the case was about a group of students who protested the voluntary prayer recitation at the beginning of every school day. This collective group of students believed that having this prayer, voluntary or not, violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The conclusion was a 6-1 decision for Engel, stating that there may not be any praying in school, even if it is not required and the prayer is not related to a specific religion. This case clearly displays the view of the supreme court, and there are many more like it. In fact, Oyez reported another case from 1984, Wallace vs Jaffree, that tackled the issue of conducting religious prayers in the Alabama school districts. A law in Alabama required teachers to conduct regular religious prayers/activities in the classroom during the day. The burning question of this case was if Alabama’s law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? Again the ruling was the same with a 6-3 decision that yes it did violate that clause. They saw it as Alabama endorsing a religion instead of remaining neutral. Verdict after verdict it is clear that the supreme court has always viewed any type of prayer in a public school as a violation of the First Amendment.
Speak1st 