Separation of Church and State: Prayer in our Public Schools

Erin Baird - Spring 2003 - Constitutional; Education

II. Primary Sources

III. Secondary Sources

 IV. Computerized Research 

A. Lexis
B. Westlaw
C. Internet Resources
D. Organizations

United States Congress Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Voluntary silent prayer constitutional amendment: report of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, on S.J. Res. 2, together with additional and minority views, 1985.

Cases

Separation of Church and State

Everson v. Board of Education, 67 S.Ct. 504 (1947).
The Supreme Court recognized that the establishment clause means that neither a state nor the federal government "can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another."' The Court noted that there must be a "wall of separation between church and State and that government must pursue a course of neutrality toward religion."

Lemon v. Kurtzman, 91 S.Ct. 2105 (1971).
The Supreme Court set forth three principal criteria to determine whether a state legislative enactment comports with the Establishment Clause: (1) whether the statute has a secular legislative purpose, (2) whether the principal or primary effect of the statute is neither to advance nor to inhibit religion, and (3) whether the statute fosters "an excessive government entanglement with religion."

Prayer in Public School

Generally
Engel v. Vitale, 82 S.Ct. 1261 (1962).
The Supreme Court held that daily classroom recitation of a denominationally neutral, state-composed prayer violates the Establishment Clause even though students could be excused from participation.

School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 83 S.Ct. 1560 (1963).
The Supreme Court held that daily Bible reading and class recitation of the Lord's Prayer offends the Constitution, even though individual students were free not to attend the morning exercises.

Wallace v. Jaffree, 105 S.Ct. 2479 (1985).
The Supreme Court held that Alabama statute authorizing a daily period of silence in public schools for meditation or voluntary prayer was an endorsement of religion lacking any clearly secular purpose, and thus was a law respecting the establishment of religion in violation of First Amendment. Here, the Court established the Endorsement test which analyzes whether a direct government action that endorses religion or a particular religious practice that makes adherence to religion relevant to a person's standing in the political community is invalid because it sends a message to those who do not adhere that they are outsiders.

Brown v. Gilmore, 258 F.3d 265 (4^th Cir. 2001).
The court held that a Virginia statute mandating establishment of "minute of silence" in state's public schools satisfied prong of Lemon test requiring statute to have secular legislative purpose to be constitutional under Establishment Clause, inasmuch as statute had at least two purposes, one that was clearly secular, in seeking to give students moment for quiet reflection, and one that accommodated religion by allowing those children who wished to pray silently each day in school an opportunity to do so.

Karen B. v. Treen, 653 F.2d 897 (5^th Cir. 1981).
Applying the Lemon test, the court held that the Louisiana statute and Jefferson Parish regulations permitting student and teacher prayers in the public schools violated the First Amendment.

Collins v. Chandler Unified School Dist., 4 F.2d 759 (9^th Cir. 1981).
The court held that student prayers read at high school assemblies violated the Establishment Clause where the principal with concurrence of superintendent granted permission for student council to recite prayers and bible verses of their choosing during school hours. Further, the court found that permission for students to conduct prayers could not be saved from constitutional attack merely because attendance at school assemblies was voluntary.

Bown v. Gwinnett County School Dist., 112 F.3d 1464 (11^th Cir. 1997).
The court held that a statute that required period for quiet reflection in school did not violate Establishment Clause. The court noted that the statute had secular purpose of providing opportunity for silent reflection on activities of day, and not religious purpose of returning prayer to schools, even though statute stated that silent period would not prevent student-initiated prayer, primary effect of period of silence would not advance nor inhibit religion, such as by endorsing prayer, and requirement that students remain silent did not constitute excessive government entanglement with religion.

Mellen v. Bunting, 181 F.Supp.2d 619 (W.D.Va.,2002).
The ct held that practice of daily supper prayers at state military college violated Establishment Clause.

Graduation Ceremonies
American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey v. Black Horse Pike, 84 F.3d 1471 (3^rd Cir. 1996).
The court held that School board's policy allowing seniors to vote to determine if prayer would be included in high school graduation ceremonies violated the Establishment Clause. The court found that the effect of particular prayer offered in given year would be to advance religion and coerce dissenting students, despite disclaimer explaining that any presentation given at graduation did not reflect views of school board, reasonable observer could not help but conclude Board favored inclusion of prayer, and policy could not be justified as accommodation as it sought to accommodate preference of some at expense of others, thereby crossing required line of neutrality.

Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District, 977 F. 2d 963 (5^th Cir.1992).
The court held that a Texas school district did not violate the Establishment Clause when it allowed student volunteers to recite prayers at its commencement ceremony.

Stein v. Plainwell Community Schools, 822 F.2d 1406 (6^th Cir. 1987).
Invocations and benedictions delivered at commencement ceremonies at two public high schools violated the First Amendment; they were framed and phrased so that they symbolically placed Government's seal of approval on Christian religious view, by employing language of Christian theology and prayer.

Harris v. Joint School District No. 241, 41 F.3d 447 (9^th Cir. 1994).
The Supreme Court held that student-initiated prayers violate the Establishment Clause, under both the Lemon test and the Weisman test. The Court determined that despite the school board’s delegation of all decisions concerning school prayer to its students and a disclaimer in school’s commencement program, the state was sufficiently involved in the recitation of the prayers because the state controlled and financed the graduation.

Chaudhuri v. State of Tenn., 886 F.Supp. 1374 (M.D.Tenn. 1995).
The court found that simply offering prayers, whether sectarian or nonsectarian, at a public university graduation ceremony does not violate the Establishment Clause because it does not carry with it the potential for establishing religion in general or any particular religion. Consequently, the recognition of a moment of silence, which has even less potential for establishing religion, does not violate the Establishment Clause either.

Graham v. Central Community School Dist. of Decatur County, 608 F.Supp. 531 (D.C.Iowa 1985).
School district's inclusion of religious invocation and religious benediction as part of its graduation ceremonies violated Establishment Clause.

Bauchman By and Through Bauchman v. West High School, 900 F.Supp. 248 (D.Utah 1995).
The court held that the singing of two religious songs at high school graduation would constitute neutral approach to religion because they had the primary effect of conveying feelings of friendship.

Adler v. Duval County School Bd., 851 F.Supp. 446 (M.D.Fla. 1994).
The court held that a School district's guidelines allowing student-initiated and student-led prayer during graduation ceremony did not violate Establishment Clause. The court noted that the speeches had primary secular purpose; guidelines permitted secular "graduation messages" by students in lieu of traditional benediction by clergy, allowed students, independently of school authorities, to decide whether to accommodate prayer or religious content in such messages, or to have neither secular solemnization nor religious prayer if students preferred.

Sporting Events
Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 120 S.Ct. 2266 (2000).
The Supreme Court held that student-led invocations during public high school foot ball games violated the Establishment Clause because the invocations are authorized by a government policy and take place on government property at government-sponsored school-related events. Rather than a public forum for free speech, the school allows only one student, the same student for the entire season, to give the invocation, and the statement or invocation, moreover, is subject to particular regulations that confine the content and topic of the student's message.

School Board Meetings:
Coles ex rel. Coles v. Cleveland Bd. of Educ., 171 F.3d 369 (6^th Cir. 1999).
The court held that the Board of Education's practice of opening is meetings with a prayer violated the Establishment Clause. The court noted that the legislative prayer exception (under Marsh) did not apply since school board meetings were an integral component of the public school system, as they were conducted on school property by school officials and were attended by students who actively and regularly participated in the discussions of school-related matters, attendance was compulsory for students wishing to challenge disciplinary action, the statements of the board's own members contradicted the stated secular purpose of giving the meetings a more professional decorum and prayers went beyond what was necessary to solemnize the meetings, primary effect was endorsing religion, and practice involved an excessive entanglement of government in religious matters in that board chose clergy to deliver that prayers, or the board president did so himself.

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Secondary Sources

ALR

Key Search:
Under Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Religion, Education, Public Schools
Terms: Prayer

Westlaw: http://www.westlaw.com

Relevant Key Numbers:
a. Constitutional Law: 92k82(3) (First Amendment Guaranties)
b. Constitutional Law: 92k98 (Religious Liberty and Freedom of Conscience)
c. Constitutional Law: 92k84.5(3) (Public Schools; Students)
d. Schools: 345k165 (Religious Instruction and Reading of Scriptures)
e. Schools: 345k178 (Graduation)

Internet

American Civil Liberties Union
http://archive.aclu.org/issues/religion/pr3.html
This website covers numerous issues relating to Constitutional liberties, including several detailed examinations of concerns arising under the Establishment Clause. The link to the Establishment Clause in the Public School specifically outlines legal concepts surrounding prayer, bible distribution, equal access to school facilities, and religious holiday parties.

Public Broadcasting System
http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/enlight/prayer.htm
This website contains a link to address the Ken Burns’ movie Thomas Jefferson, with look at how Jefferson was instrumental in shaping religious liberty in this country by his passage of the Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty. This statute was later influential in constructing the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment. Observers have the opportunity to learn about the Engel v. Vitale decision and vote on whether the Supreme Court decided the issue of public school prayer correctly.

Judicial Amendment Coalition
http://www.judicialamendment.com/SchoolPrayer.html
This website is organized by a non-profit lobbying organization that is dedicated to passing the Judicial Accountability Amendment (requiring judges to refrain from lawmaking). This page contains a thorough examination of the formation of the Establishment Clause as a violation of the authority of the Supreme Court.

First Amendment Center
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/publicschools/
This website features comprehensive research coverage of key First Amendment issues and topics, a unique First Amendment Library and guest analyses by respected legal specialists. Within the sites coverage of religious liberties is a page devoted to those liberties in the context of the public schools. There is an excellent article comparing the legal history of public school prayer under the Establishment Clause and the students religious expression rights under the Free Exercise Clause.

Anti-Defamation League
http://www.adl.org/religion_ps/prayer.asp
This website addressed a host of issues surrounding religion and religious discrimination, including an entire section devoted to religion in the public schools. The site reviews legal issues involving prayer in schools through a frequently asked question format that proves to be useful and easy to navigate.

The Secular Web
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/church-state/decisions.html
This website is designed for the community of nonbelievers with a page containing numerous links to landmark Supreme Court cases on separation of church and state.

U.S. Department of State
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/47.htm
This website contains a section on information about the United States that offers a link to a brief legal history of prayer in the public schools, including a review of the landmark Engel v. Vitale Supreme Court decision.

American Center for Law and Justice
http://www.aclj.org/info/psp.asp
This organization’s website contains a link to a letter explaining the First Amendment rights of students to pray in public schools as well as the need for schools to acknowledge and permit religious activity on campus under the Equal Access Act).

Organizations

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

American Atheists

Center for the Study of Religious Freedom

People for the American Way