Us Bill of Rights " First Amendment"

Religion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The concern of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a few of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values through religious practice. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her children’s rights as Americans.

Constitution. When the Constitution was written in 1787, it left out individual rights for citizens which led to the refusal of many states to ratify it. The Constitution of the U.S. was made to embody the fundamental principles of a government but the lack of a Bill of Rights was the main reason why many opposed the ratification of it. As stated in the Article VII, “the vote of nine states shall be sufficient for the establishment of the Constitution as the principal document uniting the states,” but in 1788 only four had states ratified it. At the time of the ratification, there was a debate between those who supported it, the Federalists, and those who opposed it, the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists argued that individuals’ rights were already protected by state constitutions, and that not listing these rights did not mean that they were inexistent as natural rights, which explains why First Amendment rights were initially not included in the Constitution. On the other hand, The Anti-Federalists strongly disagreed and feared that the increased strength of a national government would lead to an abuse of individual rights. These disputes finally initiated the draft of a new charter for the Constitution of the United States that included The First Amendment as the first section under the Bill of Rights. The leading man for this draft was James Madison, of Virginia, who is often considered “the father of the Constitution” because of his

The first amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of speech and expression. One particular form of expression that has grown in popularity is body art; also known as tattoos. This creative form of expression can be displayed anywhere on the body. It is because of this same freedom that I believe there should be restrictions on what and where a tattoo is placed. Some feel as if the Marine Corps shouldn’t have any tattoo restrictions. But I strongly disagree. This Organization has been built on so many great principles, like our Corps Values: “Honor, Courage, and Commitment.” Then we have our official United States Marine Corps (USMC) slogan: “The Few, The Proud, The Marines”. We have a reputation for being a professional, disciplined fighting force. Granted, society will always change. From the modern day fads, the fashion statements, to the personal beliefs plus the need to be an individual; we as a people can change in the blink of an eye. But should we allow that to dictate the USMC? Should we change our foundation because of our society? Although tattoos have become a part of the societal norm, in order to maintain good order, discipline, and a professional military appearance; restrictions must remain in place.

They stated that religion unifies many people and puts faith into America. The State believed that the prayer would help bring out the spiritual side of children. The parents argued that the prayer quite simply violated the first amendment, the separation of church and state and requires that the government stay out of the business of prescribing religious activities of any kind. They argued that because not all students shared the same religious beliefs, the public schools should not be a place to preach religion, and believed that religious freedom of the students was being corrupted by providing time during school for prayer. The State rebutted that the prayer was completely optional, therefore was constitutional; if the prayer was against a child’s religion, or if they simply did not want to they did not have to take part in the prayer. A case very similar to this one took place rather recently. An excerpt from the pledge of allegiance states “one nation, under God.” A parent of a child attending pleaded that having said words in the pledge of allegiance is in violation of the Establishment Clause, and took it to the Supreme Court, this is the case of Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow. The Court's decision was that the excerpt did not violate the constitution because it is a symbol of our heritage and it is a

On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, who were directed by George Washington. The 1787 convention was called to draft a new legal system for the United States now that the states were free and colonized. This new Constitution was made to increase federal authority while still protecting the rights of citizens. It established America’s National Government. In 1971, the Bill of Rights were added to Constitution containing the 10 amendments guaranteeing protection for citizens. The first commandment consisting of freedom of speech and religion. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

A couple of the families were Jewish, another family was atheist, one parent was Unitarian and the last parent was of an ethical culture society. The Parents were to believe that the school was violating the first amendment of the constitution and this was not right; that according to Thomas Jefferson there should be a separation of state and church. Never before had the public school board been argued against with prayer like issues ( Haas, pg 7-20).

In the United States Constitution, the First Amendment states that “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” (Gold). Historically, as demonstrated in cases such as Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the government in general, has well-upheld this amendment, but starting sometime in the second half of the 20th century, they are slowly embracing it less and less, as demonstrated in cases such as Texas v. Johnson. The recent hostility towards the First Amendment demonstrates that its rights

The prayer was, “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and beg Thy blessings upon us, our teachers, and our country” (Oyez 1). The state of New York approved the prayer, and the prayer was nondenominational. Children whose parents did not want them to recite the prayer did not have to participate, and were excused; reciting the prayer was voluntary. Therefore, the prayer was not mandatory and was supposed to serve as a purpose of moral education only for those who wanted to acknowledge God as the source of all blessings. However, New York Lawyers argued that the prayer offended the Establishment Clause, suggesting that the state of New York was officially approving a religion by approving the prayer. This action eventually led to the Supreme Court ruling the prayer as unconstitutional. With the success of ruling Engel v. Vitale unconstitutional, the case set a precedent for many more court cases in which the Supreme Court used the Establishment Clause as a jurisdiction for removing religious practices in public schools.

The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. This Amendment was created to protect the first United States citizens, who were escaping religious persecution and sought the right to freedom of religion and expression without government interference. The United States government is the first in world history to deliberately allow religious freedom. Though the First Amendment states that there should be some kind of separation between church and state, even the highest branches of the United States government use religion to hold citizens and or themselves accountable; thus, many people

Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that ruled it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools.

It’s a typical Friday night and you are with your friends at a basketball game. The opposing team takes a shot and misses…everything. What’s your obvious reaction? To yell, “AIR BALL! AIR BALL!” That is, unless you live in Wisconsin. Students are banned from making this chant, along with many others that the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association wrote, “are clearly intended to taunt or disrespect.” Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t it my right to taunt the referees, players and coaches?

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.

The issue of school prayer is not one of religious freedom, as it is already legal for children to pray in school, either individually or in groups. Since the Engel decision in 1962, religious advocates have been assailing the Supreme Court for "taking God out of the classroom." In an effort to reverse this trend, conservative religious groups have been fighting for the passage of a school prayer amendment to gain greater leeway for religious activities in schools.

The Supreme Court has just received Santa Fe v the people, in this case the students was banned from saying a prayer at a foot ball game . The constitution protects the right to free speech. Therefore, there is no reason for this case to have come up in the first place. If someone does not want to hear a prayer, they do not have to listen to it. If I were the judge I would rule that banning prayer at school events is unconstitutional.

Around the year of 1962, a new law was passed in the constitution stating that prayer in school was no longer allowed to be taught in school. Now, as you can imagine, that angered many people all around the world, but it also relieved some at the same time. There are many reasons why people were angered by this decision. Religious people who supported the right to pray within the school system made accusations about this change because they thought it broke the freedom of religious practices, the separation of church and state, and their right to their own freedom. There were also many reasons why people were relieved. Many people do not believe in praying every day, and to those people, they might have had the fear of sending their kids off to school knowing that they may be forced to partake in public prayers.