Engel et al. v. Vitale et al.

Decided June 25, 1962. Hugo Lafayette Black delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 468 · 370 U.S. 421 (1962) · Cited 800 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Welsh v. United States · 398 U.S. 333 (1970)
• Carson v. Makin · 596 U.S. 767 (2022)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)
• Town of Greece v. Galloway · 572 U.S. 565 (2014)
• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Bender v. Williamsport Area School District · 475 U.S. 534 (1986)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).