Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)

"Freedom to worship was indispensable in a country
whose people came from the four quarters of the earth."

Pennsylvania, 1958. Every morning, Abington Senior High students hear a reading from the Bible. Any student may leave class, with a parent's note. Even so, the Schempps, a Unitarian family, consider this school prayer policy contrary to their faith, and to the Constitution.

So does the Supreme Court. In 1963, they rule: "Freedom to worship was indispensable in a country whose people came from the four quarters of the earth, and brought with them a diversity of religious opinion." Justice Clark warns: "Powerful sects might bring about a fusion of governmental and religious functions, to the end that official support would be placed behind the tenets of one orthodoxy. This the Establishment Clause prohibits."

For more...

Religion in the Public Schools Anti-Defamation League

Celebrating Christmas: What's Legal? Teachers in Focus

AMENDMENT 1 Freedom of Religion, Speech, and Assembly

Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [^].

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