School Prayers and Bible Reading

Myths About the Separation of Church and State

• Church / State Separation • Church / State Myths • Ten Commandments • Sabbath Laws • Jehovah's Witnesses • Separation of Church & State

• Site Resources • Main Site Index • What is Atheism? • Religion & Theism • Skepticism & Logic • Arguments for / against Gods • Evolution vs. Creationism • Religious Timelines • Hate Mail • Glossary • Book Reviews

• Chat Room Join others in the Agnosticism/Atheism chat!

• Discussion Forum Do you have an opinion about this page? Make it known on the Discussion Forum!

Myth:
School-sponsored prayer and Bible reading took place in all public schools before 1962.

Response:
This is simply not true, and that may be why we don't hear this claim too often. At the time of the Engel and Schempp decisions, prayers and Bible readings were still common in Northeastern and Southern states, but some Western and Midwestern states had already begun to force an end to them. For example, the Illinois Supreme Court found mandatory religious exercises in public schools to be unconstitutional as far back as 1910.

According to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, they did a survey on the matter back in 1960. At the time, they found only five states which legally required Bible readings and another 25 states which permitted Bible readings in public schools. At the time, eleven had specifically declared such religious exercises to be unconstitutional.

This was actually an increase from earlier in the century. In 1913, only two states required Bible readings in public schools, and prior to 1900, only the state of Massachusetts had a law regarding prayers and Bible reading in public schools. The change in state laws was the result of a nation-wide effort on the part of the National Reform Association. This organization was a coalition of very conservative church groups determined to increase the influence of religion in politics and society.

Early challenges to these laws took place in state courts which were less sympathetic to the plight of minority faiths. It was only a matter of time before the issues were taken up by federal courts and eventually the Supreme Court itself. This was not a conspiracy of atheists and humanists to destroy traditional American institutions - it was, instead, people in the minority reacting to the attempts by those in the majority to impose their religion on everyone else.