Engel v. Vitale: Background information: The New York public schools followed the Pledge of Allegiance and did a small prayer which was a form of displaying dependency on God. However, parents were upset and filed a complaint which said that the Establishment Clause regarding the First Amendment was violated by requiring a prayer. This case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. Engel v. Vitale: Chief Justice at the time: The Chief Justice at the time of Engel v. Vitale was Earl Warren. Overall, the court was mostly considered liberal compared to conservative. Engel v. Vitale: Major Question at the center of the case: The main question in Engel v. Vitale is whether school-sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. …show more content…
This would be due to how the government shouldn't endorse a belief system for its people to follow in the First Amendment. America is a diverse country whose people hold religion with reverence, but that does not mean one religion should be endorsed instead of the others. For a concurring opinion, Justice Douglas believed that the government supporting a specific religious prayer at public schools violated the First Amendment. A noteworthy dissenting opinion argued by Justice Stewart was how the Establishment Clause could not prohibit every single type of government involvement in religion. Engel v. Vitale: Did it overturn any precedent? : Engel v. Vitale overturned a precedent in a previous case in McCollum v. Board of Education, which permitted religious instruction throughout school but not in public school areas. Engel v. Vitale: Relevant constitutional amendment/clause? A relevant constitutional amendment that was brought up was the First Amendment, which in this case guaranteed the separation of church and