Tom Peters, Jim Allison, and Susan Batte

In the following viewpoint, Tom Peters, Jim Allison, and Susan Batte contend that any public school–sponsored prayer is illegal. Because the U.S. Constitution forbids the government to enact a religious practice, school-supported prayer cannot be allowed. Moreover, the authors point out, students attending public schools have the right not to participate in prayer that may contradict their beliefs. Peters is a professor of communications at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Allison is an independent researcher living in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Batte is a lawyer in Norfolk,Virginia.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What sparked the 1963 Engel v.Vitale Supreme Court case"

2. According to Peters, Allison, and Batte, what is the problem with the suggestion that prayers could be rotated among the...