Section 9.5 Prayer

• Library: School Law (2003 Ed. + 2016 Supp)

C. (§9.5) Prayer

The United States Supreme Court has addressed the issue of the legality of prayer in the public schools several times over the past few decades, beginning with its decision in Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962). In this landmark decision, the Court struck down a school’s practice of starting the school day with the recitation of a nondenominational prayer. The Court held that “[n]either the fact that the prayer may be denominationally neutral nor the fact that its observance on the part of students is voluntary can serve to free it from the limitations of the Establishment Clause.” Id. at 430.

In 1963, the Court decided School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963). In that case, the school district allowed Bible passages to be read over the loudspeaker, followed by a reading of the Lord’s Prayer, recited by students in the classrooms. Parents could provide the school with written requests that their children be excused from the activities. The Court concluded that such practice violated the Establishment Clause. Clearly, the recitations occurred on the school premises with the participation and supervision of school employees. Id. at 223. The Court determined that the First Amendment demands public schools’ neutrality, regardless of the desires of the majority. Id. at 225.

In Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985), the Court struck down an Alabama statute that required a moment of silence for meditation and voluntary prayer. The Court concluded that the Alabama legislature had the clear intent to return prayer to the public schools and therefore struck down the statute because it violated the First Amendment by endorsing religion.

In Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992), the Supreme Court again addressed the issue of prayer in public schools. A middle school invited a rabbi to give a nondenominational prayer at graduation. The Court, in a 5-4 decision, struck down the practice, holding that allowing the prayer “coerced” participation by those who might object. The rationale did not involve use of the Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), three-prong analysis, but rather focused on the pressures placed on students to participate in a religious practice against their will. Although graduation is voluntary, the Court held that society places great importance on the event. This analysis is often referred to as the “coercion” test.

The issue of student prayer at school events continues to divide courts. In Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District...