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Engel v. Vitale: Banning Prayer in School | 5-Minute Videos | PragerU

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Does a simple classroom prayer violate the Constitution? That was the question before the Supreme Court in the 1962 case Engel v. Vitale. Joel Alicea, Associate Professor of Law at Catholic University, explains why this ruling dramatically reshaped the role of religion in public life—and why its impact is still felt today.

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  2. As someone who used to be a Christian Conservative and is now an Athiest Libertarian Conservative, I got to say no to State Sponsored prayer in Public School.

    In a Private or Religious School sure. In a private club setting among students and teachers sure.

    But everyday over the loud speaker, 🙄 no.

  7. Far right wingers have no sense of history or even what is happening today in schools. Students in the 1950s, 1960s… up until today can pray anytime they want. There was no forced prayer in my father's high school, none in mine, none in my daughter's. There was no organized prayer. There is no difference between the 1950s and the 2020s.

    Prayer was never banned in schools, but there are instances of far right wing religious nutters pushing prayer into schools.

  9. The Founders were not against Prayer as you can see here from Ben Franklin's prayer speech from the Constitutional Convention.

    Mr. President: (Addressing George Washington)

    The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other — our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.

    In this situation of this Assembly groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. — Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance.

    I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without [H]is notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without [H]is aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build the House they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without [H]is concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall be become a reproach and a bye word down to future age. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human Wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest.

    I therefore beg leave to move — that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.

  11. I will go further and propose that it be made illegal to brainwash or "raise" kids with religion. The world would be a much better place without religious oppression. Liberty and Justice for ALL!🗽✊🏾♀️🏳️‍🌈🌍☮️❤️🙏🏽

  12. I don’t understand the complication or all the fuss about prayer in school. I can personally go into “any” school in America and pray.

    See, what I find so interesting but yet sick (sick, because so many profess to believe in and follow him, but act the opposite of who and what Jesus was all about) is that if Jesus were to walk into any school today he wouldn’t “try to force or try to control” others to pray, no. Jesus never forced or tried to control others in to believing in him, nope, not at all. It was a choice alone, it was freewill, it was up to each and every single individual to do as they wanted.

    So, the next time someone tries to force or control you to do something against your own free will when it comes to faith, just know it’s not the example of Jesus they are following, it’s not Spirit, it’s flesh, sin.

  13. It was intended so that we stopped religion from governing and controlling people's lives. Jush like any movement or any doctrine that wants to go too far. Another example is the gender ideology. We stopped them from going too far.

  16. Well, in a real way: the government is unfit to make official prayers in any way beyond that of any other layman; that's simply due to the questionable quantity and quality of the training in grasping the direction and ID of the Entity they're trying to reach- now He will use leverage to get it there, but it does directly impact the effects thereof if you have a faulty idea of Him!
    That's COMPETENCE as far as what is needed- nothing else, and herein I'm fully in league with the Founding Fathers; including in their writing of Amendment #1, which clearly states that not only is there to be No official state religion, but the flip-side is that barring the free exercise of all parts thereof is forbidden for Congress, the sole legislative body to do; now there are some loopholes, as well there must be, such as forbidding religions that engage in murder as part of their creed, but it is the nature of the acts that're forbidden, not the religion; the reason why amounts to treaty law: and that Congress right from the start, as well as the rest of the USA government, really recognized the truth: they're not COMPETENT to legislate on that… hence it is really the only remotely Sane state in matters of faith and morals and the limits of government reach!
    That's actually saying something quite true: even the teachings of His vicarship are delusional in terms of how far any government is able to legislate in those areas; and where the radius of government power forever stops dead!

  17. Well, welcome to regular practices by the supreme court: utter garbage of usurpation of powers! Not only is there a total separation of church and state, but it is in the meaning that there is to be NO state religion, nor any barring of the free exercise thereof: take the 1st Amendment very LITERALLY, as the 10th Amendment also clarifies that the entire USA Constitution is to be taken as LITERALLY WORDED; so the view that "most people hold" of that is NULL and VOID the instant it was thought up, but it is their own responsibility to get that sorted out themselves- and given their responses: to do so WITHOUT the necessary means! That is the rightful punishment for having blundered as an adult: you do self-correct, and the rewards you need, as well as the means: they go ELSEWHERE; you are not only bereft, but literally directly condemned to die for your error- as is any adult!
    This's the real field now, buddy: mistakes count, and even the tiniest of errors have Devastating consequences on only those who make them, errors Are fatal, and irrevocable for anybody BUT the one who makes them; others making restitution only intensifies the repairs the offender must make, exponentially at that in excess of all aid that could be provided if any IS at all! What you really are dealing with is the real world of manly maturity; and errors, even being badly informed: those're FATAL to have happened at all!
    Truth is: there is NO room for the court decision, so the standards of James Madison when he was on the court in ages past come into play: any court decision that does NOT match the USA Constitution is null and void, even if enforced, the INSTANT it is issued; regardless of the views of the powerful! Their views simply do NOT matter, as their job tasks they've agreed to do actually FORCE their consent; against their will, with their full unwilling consent as willing if they ever refuse to enforce the law; and practice DOES NOT MATTER; to consider that is to basically commit *treason*; no: you go with what is written in the USA founding documents; not anything else!

  20. Depression has always existed in American (and other) societies. It just wasn’t identified or acknowledged in that time. And regarding drug addiction, well, alcohol abuse was already a painful reality. The only thing that changed was that illegal substances became more diverse (cocaine, crack, etc). So no, the Supreme Court decision did not cause those issues. Besides, wouldn’t the practice of prayer be encouraged by parents instead of public schools? That is not the government responsibility.

  22. I actually agree with Engel v. Vitale, but where courts have gone overboard is in ruling that even reserving a minute at the beginning of the day in which kids can pray their own prayers silently and voluntarily is also a First Amendment violation.

  24. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution do directly quote that God is our creator, and they acknowledge that you may worship God in your own way, the one and only true God.

    That is a direct acknowledgment.

    Religion is just a set of beliefs.

    The Establishment Clause means to worship God in your own way without it being forced upon or directed.

    remember on our money is printed In God We Trust that is another acknowledgment of the Hebrew God.

    This nation was founded on Christian beliefs and foundations.

  25. As a Catholic who continues to attend Catholic Mass, it’s disgusting that PragerU implies that “moral decline” in the US is due to a failure to impose Christian prayer. People should come to Christianity of their own free will, as God intended. PragerU is pure, shameless propaganda. You can be a moral, law-abiding, upstanding citizen without religion or with a non-Christian religion. Imposing prayer to a Christian god makes the US a theocracy – what happened to freedom???

  28. As someone who grew up in a highly Christian community, the peer pressure of NOT saying prayer in school is as much damning or more damning than “forcing” someone to say a prayer. Atheism is the ruling religion of society, because something will be the major religion of a society. Removing God from American culture means that something else man-made will fill that void. Leaving a man to determine what is divine, will always eventually led to a dystopian society.

  32. Children's Story for all Teachers, in the Home and Family, in the Common Schools, and in the Church in which you teach.

    Fourth day, September 3, 2025.

    Bible Literacy, Reading Comprehension, and Understanding the Bible is Children's Ministry in the Home and Family and in the Sabbath School.

    Give Freshest Thought;

    Use Best Methods—

    Even images, audio, and video.

    Our heavenly Father, in giving His Word, did not overlook the children.

    In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible?

    In these simple stories, may be made plain the great principles of the law of God.

    Thus, by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts:

    “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

    Deuteronomy 6:7.

    The use of object lessons, blackboards, maps, and pictures will be an aid in explaining these lessons and fixing them in the memory.

    Common School Teachers and Sabbath School Teachers.

    Parents and teachers should constantly seek improved methods to teach Biblical principles of character building.

    Our freshest thought.

    Our Best Methods.

    Our Earnest Effort.

    The teaching of the Bible should have our freshest thought, our best methods, and our most earnest effort.

    We should settle for no mean attainments.

  33. Dennis Prager was married three times. Moral decay starts at the top. Supporting Criminals goes along away to moral decay. Lying to the American people on USELESS AND SENSELESS WARS Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Libya. Redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the ultra-wealthy over the last 60 years. Prager thinks it is not having a bible in the classroom. People see what happens and they act accordingly. POLITICIANS ARE DIRT BAGS, THEN THE POPULATION THAT ELECTED THEM MUST ALSO BE DIRT BAGS.