Abington School District v. Schempp
Significance, Court Articulates A Test For Establishment Clause Questions, Reading The Bible In Public School
Appellant
School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania
Appellee
Edward Lewis Schempp
Appellant's Claim
That a Pennsylvania law requiring daily Bible readings in public schools violates the First Amendment requirement of church-state separation.
Chief Lawyers for Appellant
John D. Killian III and Philip H. Ward III
Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Henry W. Sawyer III
Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., Tom C. Clark (writing for the Court), William O. Douglas, Arthur Goldberg, John Marshall Harlan II, Earl Warren, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
Potter Stewart
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
17 June 1963
Decision
The Supreme Court struck down the Pennsylvania statute by a vote of 8-1.
Related Cases
- Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962).
Sources
"Dispute Settled over School Bible Courses."Christian Century, 1 April 1998.
Further Readings
- Alley, Robert S. School Prayer: The Court, the Congress, and the First Amendment. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1994.
- Drakeman, Donald L. Church-State Constitutional Issues: Making Sense of the Establishment Clause. New York, NY: Greenwood Press, 1991.
- Levy, Leonard Williams. The Establishment Clause: Religion and the First Amendment. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
Additional topics
- Adams v. Williams - Significance, Protective Searches For Weapons Are Permissible, A Dangerous Extension Of Terry, Impact
- Abington School District v. Schempp - Significance
- Abington School District v. Schempp - Court Articulates A Test For Establishment Clause Questions
- Abington School District v. Schempp - Reading The Bible In Public School
- Other Free Encyclopedias
Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1963 to 1972