Republicans and Evangelicals I End of School Prayer

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In 1955, the Board of Regents for New York issued an optional prayer to be used in public schools. It became known as the "Regent's Prayer". Here it is: "“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our Country.” That short prayer was contested not only by non-religious people but also by Protestants who thought that it was too vague. What God is it talking about? Where is the mention of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, salvation, sin, grace, etc.?

With help from the ACLU, parents sued and the case made it all the way to the US Supreme Court. It was known as Engle v. Vitale. It overturned prescribed prayer in schools. In this episode, Chris goes through the arguments the court and Justice Hugo Black made during this landmark decision. A year later, the Court heard Abington School District v. Schempp, which ended prescribed Bible reading in public schools.

This season we're covering how American evangelicals bonded themselves with the Republican Party. There are a lot of reasons that evangelicals started to vote as a block in the late 70s and early 1980s. They range from women's liberation, changes in attitude toward taxation, and battles over gay and lesbian rights, to education. This is part of our coverage of the education section. This episode has been rewritten and recorded, updating an episode from season 3.

Sources:

• "One Nation Under God" by Kevin Kruse
• Transcript of Abington School District v Schempp
• Census data about public and private schools
• Transcript and audio of Engel v Vitale

Discussion Questions:

• Did you ever pray in school? What did you pray?
• Did you ever read the Bible in school?
• Is there an "ideal" prayer that should be read in schools? If so, what is it? What objections might parents have?
• Is it important for school children to learn about religions in school?
• Do you agree or disagree with Justice Hugo Black?

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