Question

The state of pennsylvania had passed a law requiring public schools to recite the lord's prayer and read bible verses each morning. to comply with the legislative mandate, abington school district directed schools to conduct the morning exercise via the public-address system. if a school did not have a public-address system, the homeroom teacher was to conduct the exercises with students. students who did not want to participate could be excused from the room. in abington township school district v. schempp (1963), the us supreme court struck down the law as a violation of constitution. the court stated that, since the school district's employees were agents of the state of pennsylvania, they could not direct or encourage students to perform any religious activity. the court stated the following: nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the first amendment. but the exercises here do not fall into those categories. they are religious exercises, required by the states in violation of the command of the first amendment.

(a) identify the constitutional clause that is common to both abington v. schempp and engel v. vitale.
(b) based on the constitutional clause identified in part a, explain why the facts of engel v. vitale and abington v. schempp led to a similar holding in both cases.
(c) describe an action that members of the public could take to limit the impact of abington v. schempp if they disagreed with the court’s decision.

Answer 1

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is the common clause in both Abington School District v. Schempp and Engel v. Vitale, leading to similar rulings due to the unconstitutional endorsement of religion in public schools. To limit the impact of these decisions, the public could advocate for legislative changes or voluntary religious activities that comply with constitutional mandates.

Step-by-step explanation:

The constitutional clause common to both Abington School District v. Schempp and Engel v. Vitale is the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This clause prohibits the government from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, thus ensuring a separation of church and state. Both cases led to a similar holding because the Supreme Court found that requiring students to participate in religious exercises is an endorsement of religion by the state, violating this constitutional clause.

Members of the public who disagree with the Court's decision in Abington v. Schempp could take various actions to limit its impact. These actions could include lobbying for legislation that would introduce moments of silence instead of prayers, advocating for voluntary after-school religious programs, or pushing for constitutional amendments that allow for religious activities in schools under certain conditions.