Dissent

The case was in the end decided 8-1 by the justices. The sole dissent came from Justice Potter Stewart. He believed “ The doctrine relied on in that case as implausible, given the long history of government religious practice in the United States, including the fact that the Supreme Court opens its own sessions with the declaration, "God Save this Honorable Court" and that Congress opens its sessions with prayers, among many other examples. Stewart believed that such practice fit with the nation's long history of permitting free exercise of religious practices, even in the public sphere.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp
After the case he went on to state “It is, I think, a fallacious oversimplification to regard the [religion clauses] as establishing a single constitutional standard of "separation of church and state", which can be applied in every case to delineate the required boundaries between government and religion.... As a matter of history, the First Amendment was adopted solely as a limitation upon the newly created National Government. The events leading to its adoption strongly suggest that the Establishment Clause was primarily an attempt to insure that Congress not only would be powerless to establish a national church, but would also be unable to interfere with existing state establishments. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp
And it is said many of the critics to the Court findings quote the justice when he said “If religious exercises are held to be an impermissible activity in schools, religion is placed in an artificial and state-created disadvantage.... And a refusal to permit religious exercises thus is seen, not as the realization of state neutrality, but rather as the establishment of a religion of secularism, or at least, as governmental support of the beliefs of those who think that religious exercises should be conducted only in private (Eastland, 1993, pp. 165). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp

Your Own Argument

I most definitely agree with the end decision. I do think religion being separate from state ensures the freedoms of society. I do not want to speak bad about religion or its practice. But the only thing I have a SERIOUS problem with is religious Christians or Catholic beliefs that state they leave no room for belief in another god, that there god is a jealous god. And they do not recognize any who do not believe in there god and look down on all other faiths and non faiths. Or that if I do not believe in their god I will go to hell. OOH that’s a great scare tactic. That’s how entire governments keep their citizens at bay, through fear. So that mentality I have a problem with. But going to church having coffee with like friends or listening to an inspirational sermon, I have no problem there. Not even with saying a good night prayer or reciting Hail Mary’s, whatever helps you get through the day. Keyword: YOU… not me. I get my own choices in life and I love my country for that! My Case Argument would have to be how local governments supersede national law. Or how can they pass a law that is not first approved by a national standard in the first place? Why can any local government make it’s laws and then the wait for the test of time to finally allow for justice? I’m sure there are reasons the courts don’t work in reverse but in this case I think the Supreme Court judges could see the real problem for what it was because it wasn’t their City, State, or Town. So then again, what if it was? Would they still see it from the outside looking in?

Rule of Law

As I previously stated the rule of law that existed before the case was before the Supreme Court consisted of two laws, The Free Exercise Clause, and the first Amendment’s Establishment Clause. These two laws allowed for the courts in America to dance around the subject to try and leave little to no wiggle room for a big change with regards to religion and school. The School District’s argument was valid with law binding points that in some way allowed for the practice to go on legally for as long as it did. The School District stated the Establishment Clause was specifically in place to prevent congress from making any laws regarding the establishment of Religion. This was intended to not suppress the right of those who already did believe and wanted to continue to practice religion. Not to misconstrue the idea and allow public school to impose religion on our youth and then not allow congress to “make any laws preventing the it’s practice.” The second was the Free Exercise Clause, which was intended to keep law makers from preventing the practice of religion or dictate the way its practices should be conducted. Again this was to protect those who believe in religion, not to force those who did not believe to practice against their will. Our youth is the most vital thing to our society and although I believe the majority of religions have a “do good get good mentality” yet it is not their right to make me think and feel that way about their book and their god unless I first choose to. This is a tough call for those in power many decades ago. They risk the uprising of “Hippies” or the enslavement of free expression and idea. Big choice for any human let alone a judge who has to decide the fate of millions of Americans alike. How do you not let your own bias get in the way of your decision? Can judges put their own personal beliefs aside for the sake of a society and a 200 year old piece of paper they swore in oath to uphold and protect? The best judges I think somehow do.

Reasoning of the Court

The courts did not have much reasoning for the case I feel because there were too worried about making judgments that contradicted previous laws and not judging the relevance of the case as the constitution would see it. There seemed to be a lot of influence through the commonwealth of the nation to uphold these laws and all judgments handed down up until this point. It seems like if the Supreme Court could avoid hearing the case the commonwealth could avoid the impending doom handed down by the judgment. The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause were the two laws that allowed for contradiction to the rightful decision. The District Courts had a hard time finding for Schempp because they contended the laws already in place contradicted any other decision. My personal opinion is there would have been a large local political influence because many people in Congress at this time and even today are religious Christians. It took many decades to be able to ensure justice and uphold the integrity of the constitution and our nation but in the end it was done.
On June 17, 1963 The Supreme Court made its decision. It found (“The reading of the verses, even without comment, possesses a devotional and religious character and constitutes in effect a religious observance. The devotional and religious nature of the morning exercises is made all the more apparent by the fact that the Bible reading is followed immediately by a recital in unison by the pupils of the Lord’s Prayer. The fact that some pupils, or theoretically all pupils, might be excused from attendance at the exercises does not mitigate the obligatory nature of the ceremony for . . . Section 1516 . . . unequivocally requires the exercises to be held every school day in every school in the Commonwealth. The exercises are held in the school buildings and perforce are conducted by and under the authority of the local school authorities and during school sessions. Since the statute requires the reading of the 'Holy Bible,' a Christian document, the practice . . . prefers the Christian religion. The record demonstrates that it was the intention of . . . the Commonwealth . . . to introduce a religious ceremony into the public schools of the Commonwealth. (201 F. Supp., at 819; quoted in 374. U.S. 203 (1963)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp.

Decision of the Court

The case Abington School District v. Schempp was only one of many cases brought before the courts weather at the city, state, or local level. Starting from about the year 1910 similar cases were being brought before the courts regularly. There were two pre-existing laws that took a long precedence before overturning the decision in the Supreme Court Case. The first was the First Amendment's Establishment Clause which stated (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”)http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Murray+v.+Curlett The other law is the Free Exercise Clause ("or prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]"). http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Murray+v.+Curlett These two laws were the previous precedent for all decisions of the courts alike. From about the turn of the century there were laws in certain areas barring the practices of religion and other areas that tolerated it or even condoned its practice. The laws in place at the time before the case went to the supreme court were based on various decisions directly relating to the two previous laws already in place and not the constitutionality of the practice of religion in public schools by itself. The case Abington School District v. Schempp was brought originally before the district court where Schempp was awarded a victory. The School District appealed to the courts and soon after a clause was written into the judgment allowing for the students to be excused as an alternate means of continuing the practice. Schempp was not satisfied stating implicitly there was still no separation from church and state. His case was then brought before the Supreme Court and then ordered back down to district court for a new trial. Schempp again won a b the case by a clear margin. And then again the School District appealed to the Supreme court, where it would finally be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Issue of the Case

For the Supreme Court Case I chose Abington School District v. Schempp. The case directly involves the concept of separation of church and state, but more specifically deals with dissolving the practice of religion in the public school. The case became the precedent for all cases alike nationwide.

For next week I plan to talk more about the state level cases, their decisions, and how they affected the length of the status quo in America. The nation was at one time torn on the issue, handing down decisions based mostly on the region of the nation they were first brought about. In other words if the Catholic movement was big in a certain town, area or state then that became common practice, as it was first tolerated then allowed then written into law.
Personally I think the government was founded on a basis that religion was a perversion of society and the United States Government did not want to force upon nor deny the will or god given rights of any citizen within its great nation. After decades of drugs and violence and lawlessness the public opinion changed and there was considerable reason for change even by force if necessary. The catholic movement has by this point spread worldwide and become the most popular of the religions in America at that time. The conservatives elected to office based on their class representation allowed them together to form a type of holy alliance where they would in-turn share their view with the children of their great nation. They did not care they would be breaking the rights of all citizens. They felt it was their responsibility to bring about the best civil orientated society they could. Religious beliefs are just one of those things that do not belong in a democracy under any circumstances even when the greater good is its only goal, because the movement will sooner or later become one in vein. The beliefs people acquire with religion in life they are willing to take with them to death, and when you mix religion and patriotism you will always have a divide in opinion within the nation. The founders knew this would create divided and that is why they did not allow it. Also most if not all the founders were not even religious men at all. "Christianity... (has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on man." –Thomas Jefferson “Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.-Thomas Jefferson, February 10, 1814

The United States of America was the only thing the founders wanted its citizen to die for. They knew this dual relationship would in the end bring about no good. I believe the law makers of their time believed they were doing well merely not seeing the problem it would create. Not all people respect, value or believe in religion, often having a book or god to reference of their own and one that does not allow for more than one belief. Also there are those who believe in no religion, these circumstances account for the problems that were to one day be brought before the Supreme Court.

Facts of the Case

In 1963 Abington Township School District v. Schempp was brought before the Supreme Court. The case began as a result of what was called school sponsored bible reading. Every morning the school would begin the day by reading from the bible to the students or even making them read aloud the scripture themselves to the class. In 1928 the law (24 Pa. Stat. 15-1516) was amended into public law. It stated that at least ten verses from the Holy Bible be required to be read aloud at the opening of each school day. The Schempp family contended the law directly violated the First and Fourth Amendment Rights afforded to them by the constitution.

Laws pertaining to the case prior to it being brought before the courts consist of Twenty-Five states having laws allowing optional Bible readings and the remaining states had no laws pertaining to Bible readings. Of the twenty-five, eleven of the states allowing state sponsored prayer had the courts declare them unconstitutional.

When the case was brought before the district court it ruled in favor of Schempp stating he had the right to excuse his children with written permission from the exercises. Schempp was not satisfied insisting there was still no separation from church and state and the students civil rights were being violated by simply allowing the prayer to take place in school at all.

The case was eventually brought to the Supreme Court where the Court decided in favor of Schempp 8-1, July 17, 1963. The case was to take the lead in several similar State level cases brought before the courts. The ruling that school-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional was condemned by many religious conservatives and praised by those believing in separation of church and state. From this day on all states nation wide were to discontinue all schoo-sponsored prayer and or Bible readings and they were now illegal to condict in all public schools.