The issue of prayer in U.S. public schools has been a divisive one since the 1960s. Some critics of the practice have stated (or hinted) that letting government-paid teachers lead students in prayer is tantamount to an [[establishment of religion]]. This is considered unconstituitional and a violation of the [[First Amendment]] as the establishment clause prohibits government from establishing religion.
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Prayer was encouraged, allowed and practiced in public schools from colonial times until 1962, when the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Engel v. Vitale]]''banned it without citing a single decision as precedence for its ruling.
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[[Atheistic]] groups herald this as a great victory for their ideology, as since 1962 taxpayers have been compelled to fund and support an atheistic culture for the 90% of [[Americans]] who attend [[public school]]. Supporters of the decision claim that there is a "separation of church and state" in the [[U.S. Constitution]], though no such phrase or prohibition exists in the document.