1962 June 27

President Kennedy Supports Court Ban on Prayer in Schools

 

Following the Supreme Court’s controversial decision declaring officially sponsored prayers in public schools to be unconstitutional (Engel v. Vitale, June 25, 1962), President John F. Kennedy was asked to comment on the subject at a press conference, held on this day. Kennedy answered by giving strong support to the Court’s decision and the Supreme Court as an institution in America. He added that the decision reminds people of the importance of prayer at home.

For his views on religion in American life, see his famous speech to the Houston ministers during the 1960 presidential election campaign, on September 12, 1960, which is arguably the best speech on the place of religion in American life by any modern president.

President Kennedy (emphases added): “The Supreme Court has made its judgment, and a good many people obviously will disagree with it. Others will agree with it. But I think that it is important for us, if we are going to maintain our constitutional principle, that we support the Supreme Court decisions even when we may not agree with them.

“In addition, we have in this case a very easy remedy and that is to pray ourselves. And I would think that it would be a welcome reminder to every American family that we can pray a good deal more at home, we can attend our churches with a good deal more fidelity, and we can make the true meaning of prayer much more important in the lives of all of our children. That power is very much open to us. And I would hope that as a result of this derision that all American parents will intensify their efforts at home, and the rest of us will support the Constitution and the responsibility of the Supreme Court in interpreting it, which is theirs, and given to them by the Constitution.”

Read about the history of conflict over religion in American history: Steven Waldman, Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom (2019)

Read about Kennedy and civil liberties: Samuel Walker, Presidents and Civil Liberties from Wilson to Obama: A Story of Poor Custodians (2012)

Learn more about the Establishment Clause: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/category/religion

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