School Prayer and Constitutional Law in Modern America
Date of Event
9-30-2015
Description
September 30, 2015 "School Prayer and Constitutional Law in Modern America" William A. Brahms Lecture on Law & Religion Case Western reserve University School of Law Speaker: Sarah Barringer Gordon Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of History University of Pennsylvania.
This lecture situates controversies over school prayer in broader currents of American legal and political history. From the mid-twentieth century through today, battles over prayer and other religious observances in public schools generate headlines and bitter divides over the place of God in American society. And while today it tends to be conservative evangelicals and Catholics who argue in favor of religious exercise in the schools, the history is much more complex. A century ago, fore example, Catholics were dedicated opponents of school prayer. The shifting alliances that resulted in Catholic support for prayer in schools were among the many forces that have combined to keep such issues in the public eye, and on the docket of the Supreme Court.
Summary: This lecture situates controversies over school prayer in broader currents of American legal and political history. From the mid-twentieth century through today, battles over prayer and other religious observances in public schools generate headlines and bitter divides over the place of God in American society. And while today it tends to be conservative evangelicals and Catholics who argue in favor of religious exercise in the schools, the history is much more complex. A century ago, fore example, Catholics were dedicated opponents of school prayer. The shifting alliances that resulted in Catholic support for prayer in schools were among the many forces that have combined to keep such issues in the public eye, and on the docket of the Supreme Court.
Subject Headings
school prayer; constitutional law; First Amendment; history of school prayer; politics of school prayer
Location
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Document Type
Video
Recommended Citation
Barringer, Sarah, "School Prayer and Constitutional Law in Modern America" (2015). Conferences and Symposia. 317.
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/law_videos_general/317