Engel V Vitale Persuasive Essay

You begin your morning at school, standing to say the Pledge of Allegiance, then are forced to say a prayer praising Jesus and God for your independence. What if you don’t believe in Christianity? In the 1960’s, there was a law passed by New York, stating that public schools would open the day with the Pledge of Allegiance, then a non-denominational prayer in which students were to recognize their independence upon God. Then, in 1962, a parent sued on behalf of his child, arguing that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case was moved all the way to the Supreme Court, which resulted in a six to one vote in favor of the plaintiff. The judges stated that the school could not force children to pray, and if a student felt that the prayer was inappropriate, he or she could exclude oneself. The Supreme Court's ruling in Engel v Vitale was rightfully justified because school is an unbiased place for learning, there is the separation of church and state in the constitution, and the freedom of speech is one of the most vital rights of American citizens. Children should not be forced to pray in school, because …show more content…
The framers of the Constitution intended to strictly divide the workings of the government from religious influences (Separation of Church and State). Also, a private letter written in 1802 stated that the First Amendment established "a wall of separation between church and state." (Separation of Church and State). The separation of church and state is a general term for keeping the government and religion from becoming intertwined, and therefore corrupted. In England there was a national religion that was enforced upon the citizens. The whole reason why the Pilgrims left England was because they wanted to follow their own