School District V. Schempp Establishment Clause

Abington School District v. Schempp Markham, 2 Abington School District v. Schempp Markham, 1 Abington School District v. Schempp: Establishment Clause Jordan Markham Liberty High School 2A Many people in today?s society are caught taking advantage of the rights they have been given. As the Americans we are, we have rights that pertain to freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. These fundamental freedoms have allowed us as American citizens to be able to live our lives without the fear of being arrested or even killed because we speak out. In the 1st Amendment to the Constitution it says that ?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging†¦show more content†¦Schempp 374 US 203 (1963), 2015). The Schempp family were Unitarians, so they objected to some ideas in the Bible. They had the option to excuse their children from the Bible reading, but then their children would have missed out on some of the morning announcements. (Supreme Court Cases, 2015) So as to not hinder their children?s learning opportunities, the Schempp family brought their issue to the State appeal s court. Later, the State appeals court took the side of the Schempp family and stated the Abington School District violated the Establishment Clause, which is a clause in the First Amendment that prohibits the government from establishing a religion. (Supreme Court Cases, 2015) When the issue was brought to the Supreme Court in 1963, the question was simple, did the Pennsylvania law and Abington s policy violate the religious freedom of their students that is protected by the 1st and 14th Amendments (Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2015)? At the Supreme Court trial, with an 8-1 decision, Justice Clark wrote the majority opinion of the court. (Abington School District v. Schempp, 1963) The Supreme Court justices argued that state-sponsored devotional Bible readings in public schools constitute an impermissible religious exercise by government.? (Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2015) The court also argued that the Abington School District violated the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from being involved in religious