A Wall of Separation · Episode 5 of 14 · 52 min
How School Prayer Ended: Engel v. Vitale and Abington v. Schempp
In 1962 and 1963 the Supreme Court ended official prayer and devotional Bible reading in public schools by lopsided margins. The holdings were narrow, yet the backlash was immense, producing the myth that the Court kicked God out of school and the first amendment campaigns to reverse it. Many Americans felt dispossessed.
Who's who
- Hugo Black+2 more episodesJustice who wrote Engel v. Vitale
- Tom C. ClarkJustice who wrote Schempp and the secular purpose and effect test
- Potter Stewart+1 more episodeSole dissenter in both cases
- Madalyn Murray O'HairAtheist plaintiff in the Baltimore companion case, widely vilified
- Frank J. BeckerNew York congressman who sponsored the 1964 prayer amendment
- Everett DirksenIllinois senator who sponsored the 1966 prayer amendment
Where it happens
- New Hyde Park, New YorkHome of parents who challenged the Regents' prayer
- Abington Township, PennsylvaniaSite of the challenged mandatory Bible reading
- Baltimore, Maryland+5 more episodesSite of the Murray v. Curlett Bible-reading challenge
Timeline
- June 25, 1962Engel v. Vitale strikes down New York's state-composed school prayer, 6-1
- June 17, 1963Abington v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett strike down devotional Bible reading, 8-1
- 1964Becker's school-prayer amendment dies in House committee
- 1966Dirksen's prayer amendment fails in the Senate short of two-thirds
- 1985Wallace v. Jaffree strikes an Alabama moment-of-silence law, 6-3
Still debated
Critics echoing Stewart say a voluntary, generic prayer is closer to ceremonial deism than an establishment. Whether coercion or endorsement best explains the later school cases is unsettled, and O'Hair's notoriety distorted memory of who won.
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