Upholding the constitutional separation of church and state, the US Supreme Court in 1963 interpreted the 1st Amendment and the Bill of Rights to mean that children should not be subject in public schools to involuntary participation in the prayers of others.

Those who advocate instituting school prayer, often heard on Christian media and among those on the Christian Right of the Republican Party, argue that the 1st Amendment should protect them from government interference in the practice of their faith. In some areas of the country (e.g. the Bible belt), communities continued after 1963 to sanction prayer in the schools, leading to cases like that in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, when newcomers objected and took the school board to court. Focus has shifted to the word “voluntary” and supporters of prayer in schools have been pushing for the introduction of a moment of silence during which students may pray. Opponents, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, question how voluntary this may be and whether it would not still be oppressive to atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims, among others, who might feel obliged to conform to Christian-imposed ritual.