Prayer In Public Schools Case Study

In America, there has been a prolonged history of conflict regarding prayer and the use of the bible within the public school system. In the 18th century, the Constitution was written in which it addressed the use of prayer in a school setting in Article six, Clause three. According to Religoustolerance.org, the constitution prohibited the requirement of students to pray in class, allowing the student to excuse themselves from the classroom and step into the hallway when a prayer was being read or recited. While the Constitution permits this, many states still feel that there is an element of "compulsion" involved as a child may be picked on or treated differently by his/her fellow students for excusing themselves from the room during a prayer. …show more content…
While religion became more accepted, people still developed controversy about Christianity being the primary religion taught and mentioned in schools all over the world. According to UScourts.com, the United States Supreme Court ruled against mandated daily school prayer in the case of Engel v. Vitale in 1962. This court case was led by Stephen Engel, a follower of Judaism. Stephen 's main complaint during the trial was that students should not be expected to pray to only one unified "God" during their time of prayer while attending school. The ruling stated that students were allowed to worship freely at high school games. On the other hand, the ruling prohibited promoting any denomination at the expense of another denomination, the wearing of religious clothing/symbols and praying before Board of Education meetings within the public school system. The purpose of this ruling was to allow open prayer and worship within the school system while having respect for other people and their separate …show more content…
These types of programs are less focused on "teaching religion" and more focused on "teaching about religion." According to Archive.adl.org, these types of programs are meant to teach students about the role of religion in the historical, cultural, literary and social development of the United States as well as other nations. When religion is taught in present day schools, it is expected to be taught and discussed in a neutral and factual manner. This type of program strives to ensure that the student understands their own religious liberty as a main element of freedom and democracy in the United States. The main goal of secular educational programs is to train teachers to teach in a way that does not promote or inhibit religion in any way. The teacher is also not allowed to inflict their personal beliefs on his/her students while teaching the curriculum. In the present day, it is constitutionally permissible to teach students about religion and the importance of religion, but it is considered to be unconstitutional for public schools and public school teachers to recognize religious holidays, promote personal religious beliefs or practice religion in regards to their