Establishment of Religion

In 1962 in the case of Engle vs. Vitale a court decided that a mandatory prayer in public schools was unconstitutional as it was tantamount to an establishment of religion. While the court’s decision was constitutionally sound it had a widespread negative effect on the freedom of Christian expression in schools.
Christian faith should not be dependant on government policies. Mandatory prayer or Bible reading in public schools is wrong. If a Muslim or Buddhist went to the school they should not be forced to practice any form of Christianity. If Islam was the predominant religion of the country I would not want mandatory reading of the Koran in school. I do think however that individual prayer should be allowed. Teachers should also have the right to express their faith as long as they are not forcing it on the children. Only forced religious expression is “an establishment of religion”. If you try to wipe out all public religious expression you might as well have “an establishment of atheism”.
So, while the court made the right decision, the government has to be careful to avoid some common pitfalls. There is a fine line to be walked between “an establishment of religion” and “an establishment of lack of religion”.