Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Executive summary about prayer in schools by Austin Cline

What authority, if any, does the government have when it comes religious rituals like prayers? Can a government write specific prayers for public school students to recite every day? Labeled the “To whom it may concern” prayer by one commentator, it stated:

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.

Both the state court and the New York Court of Appeals allowed the prayer to be recited. On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 that it was unconstitutional for a government agency like a school or government agents like public school employees to require students to recite prayers.

According to Black, the governmentally created prayer recitation is much like the English creation of the Book of Common Prayer. It was to avoid exactly this type of relationship between government and organized religion that many early colonists came to America. In his words, the prayer was “a practice wholly inconsistent with the Establishment Clause.”

Although the Regents argued that there was no compulsion on students to recite the prayer, Black observed that:

Neither the fact that the prayer may be denominationally neutral nor the fact that its observances on the part of students is voluntary can serve to free it from the limitations of the Establishment Clause...

Guide to Religious Divorce Rituals

Executive summary about religious rituals by Jennifer M. Paquette

The way we divorce is changing. Says Rabbi Sharon Sobel, Regional Director of the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism, "Rituals help effect a transformation.”

If you have children, a ritual can help them acknowledge that it's truly over, while sending a vital affirmation at the same time.

Overview of Religion

The focus will be on the types of religious beliefs and religious leaders, especially in small-scale societies. A religion is a system of beliefs usually involving the worship of supernatural forces. Religious beliefs provide shape and meaning to one's perception of the universe. For most religious people, their beliefs about the supernatural are at the very core of their world views.

The performance of rituals is an integral part of all religions. For example, going to church on Sunday is a common religious ritual for Christians around the world. At the heart of this experience is a sequence of traditional ritual acts that symbolically represent aspects of the life, teachings, and death of Jesus.

Most religious rituals are performed in special places and under special conditions, such as in a dedicated temple. This is an intentional separation between the secular and the sacred. The separation makes the rituals more effective. Only allowing initiated people to participate in religious rituals also can have the same effect.

Religious ritual reinforces the basic tenets of religion. Rituals are often charged with high emotions. The exalted feelings people experience during rituals provide positive reinforcement for continuing them. When rituals make people "feel good", they reinforce the belief that their religion is the "correct" one.

Not all rituals are religious. Political ideologies and movements often have rituals that can be profoundly important for people, especially when they become the focus of nationalism.

Religions fulfill psychological needs, help ease the stress during personal life crises such as birth, marriage, serious illness, and death also fulfill social needs, can be powerful, dynamic forces in society. By reinforcing group norms, they help bring about social homogeneity. A uniformity of beliefs helps bind people together and reinforces group identity.

In most societies, religions play an important role in social control by defining what is right and wrong behavior. The sacred texts of religions usually set precedents for proper behavior in common situations.