Which case held that state-sponsored school prayer violates the Establishment Clause?

• A. Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
• B. Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)
• C. Engle v. Vitale (1962)
• D. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Answer: (C)

The important idea here is that the government cannot endorse or sponsor religion in public institutions. Engle v. Vitale (1962) directly applies that principle to public schools by holding that a daily, state-composed prayer recited in public schools violates the Establishment Clause. The Court ruled that when the government itself approves and leads a prayer, it signals official endorsement of religion, which the First Amendment forbids, even if participants could opt out and even if the prayer is non-denominational. This ruling established that public schools, as government institutions, cannot organize or sponsor religious observances.

For context, the other cases involve religion in schools but address different issues. Edwards v. Aguillard dealt with whether public schools can teach creationism alongside evolution. Abington School District v. Schempp ruled that school-sponsored Bible readings in public schools violate the Establishment Clause. Lemon v. Kurtzman later provided a test for evaluating Establishment Clause challenges, especially around government aid to religious schools and related curricula, but it is Engle that directly addressed the propriety of state-sponsored prayer in the public school setting.