In 1949, a state-wide law was passed in Pennsylvania that required public school students to read scriptures from the Bible and recite the Lord's Prayer everyday in class. This law stayed intact until Edward Schempp challenged it nine years later. Pennsylvania wasn't the first or the only state to enforce law making it mandatory for students to read from the Bible during school. Twenty-five additional states had laws allowing "optional" reading for the Bible. But in eleven of the twenty-five states, courts had decided those laws were unconstitutional.

Mr. Schempp took the case to court in to 1958, claiming that required reading for the Bible and recitation of the Lord's Pray prohibited free exercise of religion for his children, and was therefore unconstitutional, under the First Amendment. Mr. Schempp son, Ellory, stated under oath, that he didn't not believe in Jesus Christ, or the Christian beliefs. He testified that ideas opposing to his were presented to him while he was at school in Abington High. He received punishment because he refused to stand at a

ttention during the recitation of the Lord's Prayer and when requested to leave during the exercise, his demands were denied.

I believe that a well-rounded education is essential to students. But I also believe in proof, and if you cannot prove to me that a certain "higher-being" exists, then do not try to sell me on it. A lot of people can place their faith into something they believe is invisible, there, you just can't see it. But to me, believing in a theory that cannot be proven is like asking me to place a glass on a table that is not there. I believe that students should know of religions, theories, etc. but be able to make their our decision without outside influence. This Supreme Court case allows just that.

This case bounced back and forth between Supreme Court and district court before eventually ending in 1963. Abington school district appealed to the Supreme Court after it was not satisfied with the verdict at district court level. The Supreme Court upheld the District court previous decisions, and finally the law was abolished.

The ignorance of the people in Abington surprised me. I cannot understand

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 765
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)