School Prayer

School prayer has remained a subject of national debate in the United States throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Engel v. Vitale ushered in an era in which school prayer was effectively forbidden; however, with the passage of the Equal Access Act in 1984, some forms of school prayer were again sanctioned. The Department of Education now issues a guide to help school administrators practically apply congressional laws and Supreme Court decisions concerning school prayer. An international perspective shows that current US policy towards school prayer is relatively unique, as most developed countries disallow prayer in public schools.

Keywords Constitutionally Protected Prayer; Equal Access Act; Establishment Clause; First Amendment; Fourteenth Amendment; Freedom of Religion; Freedom of Speech; Free Exercise Clause; Moment of Silence; Prayer in School; Separation of Church and State

Overview

For much of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, school prayer has been the focal point of an ongoing debate about the role of religion in American society. The question of the legality of prayer in public schools brings together a number of important concepts in American government and legal theory. Opponents and proponents of school prayer couch their arguments on such major constitutional issues as the separation of church and state, the right to free speech, the right to free exercise of religion, and the respective powers of local, state, and national governments. Since hearing its first case on the issue in 1962, the United States Supreme Court has handed down at least one decision dealing with school prayer in each successive decade. All of this makes school prayer an enduring and highly significant topic in the fields of education and law.

School prayer is a practical as well as a theoretical point of contention. Besides understanding and navigating the legal dimensions of this issue, school officials must also take into consideration local public opinion and community needs in order to formulate district policy. The United States educational system, rooted as it is in local and state educational agencies, necessitates that each individual school administrator decide how to apply Supreme Court rulings and national laws concerning religion in public schools. The Clinton and George W. Bush administrations both released guides intended to help local districts accomplish this task. Successive administrations did as well, with the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations all offering guidelines on school prayer (Dallas, 2023; Ordonez, 2020).

The debate over school prayer shows no signs of ending in the near future. However, several principles have been established with as much consensus as can be expected. An understanding of these, as well as of the history of prayer in public schools and the constitutional points crucial to the debate, will provide a solid foundation for further inquiry into any aspect of this multifaceted subject.

History

Until the early twentieth century, prayer was an accepted aspect of public education. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, America remained a de facto Christian nation, and public school curriculum reflected this. The contemporary, mainstream debate about prayer in public schools actually began in 1948, when the Supreme Court handed down its first decision on the issue of religion in public schools, ruling in Illinois ex. rel. McCollum v Board of Education that it is unconstitutional to conduct religious education within public school buildings ("Keeping the Faith," 2000). This decision formed a basis for later decisions on school prayer. Since then, there have been two distinct periods in the history of school prayer. During the first, which lasted from approximately 1962 to 1984, school prayer was virtually excised from public schools. The public debate about school prayer during this period focused on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the principle of separation of church and state. The second period in the history of school prayer began in 1984 and continues into the twenty-first century. This period has witnessed a limited return of prayer in public schools, with public debate about the issue emphasizing the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, expression, and religion.

Engel v. Vitale

The watershed moment that inaugurated the first of these periods came in 1962 when the Supreme Court handed down its most important decision regarding prayers in public schools to date. In Engel v. Vitale, the Court ruled a non-denominational prayer used in New York public schools was unconstitutional because it violated the doctrine of the separation of church and state. In 1963, all voluntary prayer and Bible readings were banned as well ("Keeping the Faith," 2000).

For the next twenty years, religion virtually disappeared from public schools. Not only were prayers and Bible readings absolutely abolished, but discussion of religion was also excised from textbooks and curricula. Students were directed not to speak about religion in the classroom; in other words, to "leave their religion at the schoolhouse door" (Haynes, 2006). Most administrators preferred to err on the side of caution. Rather than make potentially controversial decisions concerning contexts in which school prayer might be legal, administrators applied a zero-tolerance policy to school prayer. They interpreted the far from conclusive Supreme Court decisions as leaving no place at all for religion or prayer in public schools (Walsh, 2003).

The Equal Access Act

All of this changed in 1984 when Congress passed the Equal Access Act, which opened the second distinct period in the history of prayer in public schools. This piece of legislation was designed to correct the widely held perception that religious speech was prohibited in public schools (Balk, 2001). The Equal Access Act mandated that all students and student groups be given equal access to school facilities. It also prohibited discrimination based on the content of student speech. The most important ramifications of this act were on school clubs. The law states that if a school allows its students to form any school clubs, then it must sanction the formation of all school clubs, even if a club's focus is religious in nature. Student groups were granted a level of autonomy by this legislation, as schools could no longer sponsor, participate in, direct, or otherwise control the activities of student groups (Balk, 2001).

One effect of the Equal Access Act was to reintroduce prayer, in certain very specific contexts, back into public schools. Students now had the articulated legal right to form religious groups, including prayer groups and Bible study groups. So long as these groups were formed and run by students, they could engage in prayer within public school facilities, albeit not during instruction time. This right had to be applied, however, to all religious groups regardless of their beliefs.

Following the passage of the Equal Access Act, the debate over school prayer shifted. While in earlier decades, the debate addressed one's freedom from a state-established religion, new discussions about school prayer emphasized the student's right to freedom of speech and religious expression (Haynes, 2006). Previously, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment had been used to argue that school prayer violated the prohibition against the establishment of a state religion. Now, the First Amendment's Free Exercise clause was being used to argue that a ban on school prayer violated a student's right to the free exercise of religion, free speech, and free expression. Once it was clear that some speech about religion was allowed in public schools if it was initiated by students, advocates of school prayer began attempting to reintroduce prayer to non-curricular school events, such as graduation ceremonies and sports competitions. The Supreme Court also bolstered school prayer supporters when, in 1985, it issued unofficial guidelines on how legislation calling for a moment-of-silence during the school day should be crafted in order to be constitutional (Davis, 2003). Many state legislatures passed moment of silence legislation, which effectively allowed time during the school day for students to say a silent prayer or engage in some other form of thoughtful reflection.

Further Rulings

The Supreme Court has ruled on the legality of prayer at various extra-curricular school functions. In 1992, in Lee v Weisman, the Court declared prayer at graduation ceremonies to be unconstitutional. In this particular case, the prayer recited was not student-initiated but part of a speech given by a religious leader chosen by school administrators as a graduation speaker. Thus, rather than prohibit all prayer at extra-curricular events, this ruling prohibited only prayer sponsored or endorsed by school authorities (Balk, 2001). In 2000, the Supreme Court similarly ruled in Santa Fe Independent School District v Doe that student-led prayers before school football games were unconstitutional. These prayers were being delivered via the school's P.A. system and so constituted public, not private, speech. In addition, the Santa Fe school in question was too involved with this student-led process—it assisted with a vote that was part of the process for picking a prayer leader and passed a policy related to the prayer at a school board meeting (Speich, 2001). According to the Supreme Court, all this meant that these student-led prayers were really encouraged and sponsored by the school (Balk, 2001). The question of the legality of student religious speech delivered independently (with total school neutrality) before an audience was not settled (Haynes, 2006). The issue of school prayer in the context of public school sports was revisited again in 2022 when the Court ruled in favor of a football coach who led his team in prayer on the field after the game. Many saw the ruling as an erosion of the separation of church and state (ACLU, 2022).

School Prayer Today

Court rulings throughout the twenty-first century have sided in favor of proponents of prayer in public schools. Throughout the George W. Bush era, the U.S. Department of Education vigorously maintained that it is the responsibility of school administrators to protect students' right to free religious speech in school. Critics of this policy charged the administration with "pushing the envelope" on the school prayer issue and capitulating to religious conservatives (Walsh, 2003). The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) required the Department of Education to issue a booklet of guidelines on "constitutionally protected prayer" in United States public schools (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Moreover, as a condition of receiving Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funds, each local educational agency had to certify to its state educational agencies that none of its policies impede students' right to constitutionally protected prayer as set forth in the booklet of guidelines (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). The guidelines set forth in the booklet garnered criticism for issuing strict rules on points still being debated by the Supreme Court. Subsequent administrations also dealt with the issue of prayer in public schools, and all have issued their own updated guidelines regarding prayer in public schools. The Trump Administration defended students' rights to pray in public schools and threatened to remove federal funding for schools that impeded that right. Biden addressed prayer in schools after the controversial Kennedy v. Bremerton School District—a case decided by a Court of conservative judges nominated during the Trump administration (Dallas, 2023; Ordonez, 2020).

Applications

The Constitutional Basis for School Prayer Debates

The question of the legality of school prayer hinges on two amendments in the United States Constitution: the First Amendment and the Fourteenth. The First Amendment is comprised of two main clauses, known as the establishment clause and the free-exercise clause. The establishment clause refers to the injunction that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion," while the free exercise clause refers to the next pronouncement that it shall not make laws "prohibiting the free exercise, thereof" (U.S. Government Printing Office, 2002). In the debate over school prayer, the establishment clause is most often invoked by the opponents of school prayer, who argue that prayer in public schools is tantamount to the establishment of a state religion. Proponents of school prayer use the free exercise clause to argue that prohibiting prayer in school interferes with students' free exercise of—and free speech about—religion (Haynes, 2006).

The Fourteenth Amendment is also key to this debate because it states that state and local governments, including agencies such as public schools, are bound by the First Amendment. In their official capacities, school administrators, teachers, and staff are all representatives of the State. Thus, a superintendent's approval of guided prayer before sporting events would be equivalent to state-sponsored prayer, which would violate the principle of separation of church and state. Similarly, prayer at school board meetings is illegal because the school board is a representative of the state.

Despite the complexity of these constitutional issues, the Supreme Court's various rulings show a basic consensus on how the First Amendment impacts school prayer. According to the United States Department of Education, "the First Amendment forbids religious activity that is sponsored by the government but protects religious activity that is initiated by private individuals" in school (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). School officials representing the state should be neither hostile nor partial to school prayers or other religious expressions but should maintain a stance of neutrality (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).

Practical Guidelines on School Prayer

As the Education Department's "Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools" suggested school administrators often needed guidance on how to pragmatically apply congressional laws and Supreme Court decisions to the day-to-day administration of their schools. The guidebook listed a number of practices that were either legal or illegal according to Supreme Court rulings. Subsequent administrations updated these guidelines as well, issuing their own similar guidelines (Department of Education, 2023). After the Court’s ruling in the Kennedy v. Bremerton School District Case, the Department of Education adjusted its rules accordingly.

School officials cannot legally do any of the following:

• Lead classes in prayer or devotional Bible readings

• Attempt to persuade/compel students to participate in any religious activities, such as prayer

• Decide to include prayer in a school-sponsored event, such as a graduation ceremony or an athletic event

• Participate in religious activities while in an official capacity

• Encourage or discourage students from praying during a moment of silence if their school observes this practice during the school day (US Department of Education, 2023).

• Students have the constitutional right to free speech at school, which includes the right to pray amongst themselves so long as they are not disrupting classroom instruction

• Students can make religious remarks in front of a public audience so long as the school maintains a neutral stance towards student speakers and the content of their speech

• Students may engage in religious activities such as praying, reading the Bible, saying grace, etc., when not receiving classroom instruction (during recess, lunch hour, or any other free period)

• Students may or may not pray during a moment of silence if their school observes this practice during the school day

• Students may be dismissed from class in order to pursue a religious obligation

• Students may express their religious beliefs in classroom work or homework, and such work must be neutrally evaluated according to academic standards

• Student speakers (so long as they are chosen neutrally, meaning not on a basis that either favors or disfavors religious expression) are entitled to express religious statements at public school assemblies, including graduation ceremonies (U.S. Department of Education, 2023).

Polls & Surveys

Because school prayer remains a contentious issue in the United States, it is frequently the subject of public opinion polls. One poll administered by the Gallup Organization in 2014 showed significant public support for some form of prayer in public schools. Seventy-five percent of those adults polled said they favored a Constitutional amendment allowing voluntary prayer in public schools. This number has slightly declined in the twenty-first century. School-aged participants also favored school prayer. Sixty-one percent of school-aged children thought some form of prayer should be allowed (Riffkin, 2014).

International Perspectives

On a global level, the school prayer issue shows the United States to be relatively unique amongst developed nations in its relationship to school prayer. While school prayer remains a contentious legal issue in America, abroad it is not: "Even countries that have not maintained a strict separation of church and state have, by and large, tended to eschew state-sponsored school prayer" (Walsh, 1995). Those countries with populations that are heterogeneous in terms of religion—similar to the United States—by and large have decided against allowing even a non-denominational state-sponsored school prayer in public schools.

Terms & Concepts

Constitutionally Protected Prayer: As outlined by the U.S. Department of Education in its booklet, Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, the religious expression that students have a Constitutional right to freely engage in at school.

Equal Access Act: Congressional legislation passed in 1984, it mandates that all student groups be given equal access to school facilities. It paved the way for reintroducing prayer into public schools by guaranteeing students the right to form school prayer groups if they have the right to form other types of school clubs.

Establishment Clause: The clause in the first amendment that prohibits Congress from making any law respecting the establishment of religion.

First Amendment: Part of the Bill of Rights, it prohibits Congress from establishing state religion, and it grants citizens the rights to freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble peaceably, and freedom to petition the government to redress grievances.

Fourteenth Amendment: Ratified in 1868, one of its clauses states that state and local governments, including government agencies, are bound by the First Amendment.

Freedom of Religion: As guaranteed in the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment, citizens of the United States have the right to freely exercise any and all religions.

Freedom of Speech: As guaranteed in the First Amendment, all United States Citizens possess the right to express themselves without interference or constraint from the government.

Free Exercise Clause: The clause in the First Amendment that guarantees citizens the free exercise of any religion.

Moment-of-Silence: An officially recognized span of time -usually from thirty seconds to one minute - during which students may or may not engage in silent prayer or reflection.

Prayer in School: A controversial issue in the United States, state-sponsored prayer in school has been ruled illegal by the United States Supreme Court. However, student-initiated prayer in school is legal in certain contexts. According to the No Child Left Behind Act, a student's right to constitutionally protected prayer in school must be protected as a pre-condition for receiving federal funds.

Separation of Church and State: One of the cardinal principles of America's secular democracy, it refers to the political doctrine of keeping government and religious institutions autonomous and independent from one another.

Bibliography

ACLU comment on Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. (2022, June 27). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved June 13, 2023, from https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-comment-supreme-court-decision-kennedy-v-bremerton-school-district

Balk, H. (2001). Chandler v. James: A student's right of prayer in public schools. BYU Journal of Public Law, 15 , 243-262. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=4602287&site=ehost-live

Bowman, K. (Ed.). (2006). A prayerful nation. American Enterprise, 17 , 54-55. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=20771133&site=ehost-live

Dallas, K. (2023, May 15). Biden administration issues updated guidance on school prayer. Deseret News. Retrieved June 13, 2023, from https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/15/23724592/biden-administration-guidance-school-prayer

Davis, D. (2003). Moments of silence in America's public schools: Constitutional and ethical considerations. Journal of Church & State, 45 , 429-442. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Educational Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=10946286&site=ehost-live

Davis, M. (2006, May 10). Sen. Byrd introduces prayer amendment. Education Week, 25 , 26. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=21498006&site=ehost-live

Fox, R. A., Buchanan, N. K., Eckes, S. E., & Basford, L. E. (2012). The line between cultural education and religious education: Do ethnocentric niche charter schools have a prayer?. Review of Research in Education, 36, 282-305. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=71865803

Guidance on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools. (2023, May 15). Department of Education. Retrieved June 13, 2023, from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer‗guidance.html

Haynes, C. (2006). From battleground to common ground. School Administrator, 63 , 10-15. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=22619608&site=ehost-live

Jones, N.R. (2012). Of prayer, public schools and the constitution. Church & State, 65, 24-25. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=79887740&site=ehost-live

Keeping the faith. (2000, September 29). Current Events (Teacher's Edition), 100 , 1-2. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=3635506&site=ehost-live

Lunenburg, F.C. (2011). Church-state relations in public schools: Religious influences and accommodations. FOCUS on Colleges, Universities & Schools, 6, 1-4. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=69712962&site=ehost-live

Ordoñez, F. (2020, January 16). Trump reinforces protections for student prayer in schools. NPR. Retrieved June 13, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796864399/exclusive-trump-to-reinforce-protections-for-prayer-in-schools

Riffkin, R. (2014, September 25). In US, support for daily prayer in schools dips slightly. Gallup News. Retrieved June 13, 2023, from https://news.gallup.com/poll/177401/support-daily-prayer-schools-dips-slightly.aspx

School prayer guide gets mixed reviews. (2003, March 8). Christian Century, 120 , 16. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9233844&site=ehost-live

Speich, J. (2001). Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe: Mapping the future of student-led, student-initiated prayer in public schools. Albany Law Review, 65 , 271-314. Retrieved on March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9539749&site=ehost-live

Supreme court decisions. (2012). Journal of Law & Education, 41, 363-375. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=74482806

U.S. Department of Education. (2003). Guidance on constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools. Washington, D.C. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html

U.S. Government Printing Office. (n.d.) Constitution of the United States of America, analysis and interpretation (2002 ed.). Retrieved March 14, 2007, from http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.html

Walsh, M. (1995, May 31). Most nations eschew prayers in public schools, report says. Education Week, 14 , 9. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9506193843&site=ehost-live

Walsh, M. (2003, February 19). Critics say agency 'pushing the envelope' with school prayer guide. Education Week, 22 , 25. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9139617&site=ehost-live

Warnick, B.R. (2012). Student rights to religious expression and the special characteristics of schools. Educational Theory, 62, 59-74. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=70331074&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Alley, R. (1994). School prayer: The Court, the Congress, and the First Amendment Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Covaleskie, J. F. (2012). The first amendment goes to school. Journal of Philosophy & History of Education, 6217-28. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88871448

Garnett, R. (2005). Bush v. Holmes: School vouchers, religious freedom, and state constitutions. Education & the Law, 17 , 173-183. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=20212938&site=ehost-live

Primary and secondary education. (2005). Journal of Law & Education, 34 , 295-313. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=16730229&site=ehost-live

Shotwell, T. (2004). Mandatory prayer in public schools: The British Virgin Islands school system. Negro Educational Review, 55 , 197-208. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=15594531&site=ehost-live

Studying the question of Bible study. (2006). Magna's Campus Legal Monthly, 21 , 4-6. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=20398246&site=ehost-live