It has become known to many as the moment when the U.S. Supreme
Court kicked God out of the public schools, supposedly paving the
way for a decline in educational quality and a dramatic rise in
delinquency and immorality. The 6-to-1 decision in Engel v. Vitale
(1962) not only sparked outrage among a great many religious
Americans, it also rallied those who cried out against what they
perceived as a dangerously activist Court.
Bruce Dierenfield has written a concise and readable guide to
the first-and still most important-case that addressed the
constitutionality of prayer in public schools. The 22-word
recitation in a Long Island school that was challenged in Engel v.
Vitale was hardly denominational--not even overtly Christian--but a
handful of parents saw it as a violation of the First Amendment's
proscription again the establishment of religion. The case forced
the Supreme Court to take a stand on Jefferson's "wall of
separation" between church and state. When it did so, the Court
declared that by endorsing the prayer recitation-no matter how
brief, non-denominational, or voluntary-the Long Island school
board had unconstitutionally approved the establishment of religion
in school.
Writing with impeccable fairness and sensitivity, Dierenfield
sets his account of the Engel decision in the larger historical and
political context, citing battles over a wide range of religious
activities in public schools throughout American history. He takes
readers behind the scenes at school board meetings and Court
deliberations to show real people wrestling with deeply personal
issues. Through interviews with many of the participants, he also
reveals the large price paid by the plaintiffs and their children,
who were frequently harassed both during and after the trial.
For a long time, opponents of the decision have loudly claimed
that it was based on a distorted reading of the First Amendment and
deprived Americans of their right to practice religion. Dierenfield
shows that the polarizing effect of Engel-a decision every bit as
controversial as Roe v. Wade-has reverberated through the
subsequent decades and gained intensity with the rise of the
religious right. His book helps readers understand why, even in the
face of this landmark decision, Americans remain divided on how
divided church and state should be.
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