The End of School Prayer in America

American Minute from William J. Federer

On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court stopped school prayer.

Ronald Reagan said, March 6, 1984: "From the early days of the American colonies, prayer in schools was practiced and revered as an important tradition. Indeed, for nearly 2 centuries of our history it was considered a natural expression of our religious freedom. Then in 1962, the Supreme Court declared school prayer illegal."

Reagan continued: "Well, I firmly believe the loving God who has blessed our land and made us a good caring people should never have been expelled from America's classrooms."

Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, who was born NOVEMBER 20, 1917, agreed, stating: "In no other place in the United States are there so many...official evidences of...faith in God on the part of Government as there are in Washington...On the south banks of Washington's Tidal Basin, Jefferson still speaks: 'Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.'"

Senator Robert Byrd concluded: "Jefferson's words are a forceful and explicit warning that to remove God from this country will destroy it."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.