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The "Old Deluder Satan" Act
This was a law that made it mandatory for the establishment and support of schools in towns of 50 or more families to teach children to read and write. The religious motives behind this act were to make sure that colonists were able to read the Bible and thus "delude" Satan. -
To salute, or not to salute?
The Supreme Court made this clear in 1943 in West Virginia v. Barnette that students are not required to salute the flag. The basis of this is that it could possibly infringe on someone's religious beliefs to do so. -
Everson v. Board of Education
This court decision ended differently than most because Everson did not win this case. A New Jersey tax payer was upset that both private and public school were offered reimbursement for the transportation to and from school. The court decided that this neither promoted or inhibited religion, so the case was dismissed. -
McCollum v. Board of Education
The local school district allowed a religious association which taught voluntary religious classes for 30- to 45- minutes each week which was provided by clergy or lay members. There was an antheist mother that felt like her son was being ostracized for not being present at the lessons, so she sued them and the Supreme Court agreed with her on this date. -
The Knights of Columbus
This was the year that the phrase "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance... It has caused controversy ever since. -
Engel v. Vitale
In New Hyde Park, NY the pulic schools required recitation of a prayer. Parents felt like it violated their rights and took it to the Supreme Court and won this case. -
Lemon v. Kurtzman
This case originated in Rhode Island. This case is where we get the lemon test from which helps us decide if the Establishment Act is being violated. The case was about the state paying for materials and labor for nonpublic schools. It was believed to have caused "excessive entanglement" between religion and the state, so it did not pass the lemon test. -
Wisconsin v. Yoder
This case involved the Free Exercise Clause. The Supreme Court ruled that there was no compelling interest of the state to mandate Amish youth to attend school past the eighth grade year. -
Equal Access Act
The Equal Access Act allows students to have student organizations that do not have to be in the curriculum. They can be religious, and they can also be gay-straight alliance clubs. The idea is that if they allow nonreligious groups to meet then they must include religious groups the same priveledge. -
Wallace v. Jaffree
In Alabama the teachers were permitted to have a one minute period for a moment of silence or a moment of silent prayer, yet some of the teachers may have taken this too far. In Mobile, AL a father asks his childrens' teachers to stop the morning "devotional" in class because it was bringing about indoctrination and ostracizing of his children in his opinion. The Supreme Court ruled that it was Unconstitutional. -
Religious displays
The Supreme Court found a Kentucky law unconstitutional that required the posting of the Ten Commandments in the classroom. -
Lee v. Weisman
The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional as a violation of the Establishment Act for clergy to deliver invocations and benedictions at graduation ceremonies. -
Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District
This ruling had to do with a violation of the Equal Access Act because a school was allowing groups to use public schools to teach family values and things of that sort. Access was denied for a church to use the same facility the same subjects through their perspective which led to this case. -
Berger v. Rensselaer Central School Corporation
A father brought about a trial over the Gideons passing out Bibles to fifth graders. The case was dismissed because the Bibles were not used to proselytize and were not passed out by teachers or school officials. -
Newdow v. United States
This case involved a father being offended by the "under God" phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance. The case was dismissed on the grounds that the father was not the custodial parent of the child.
