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(1972) New York – Rows of public school pupils participate in school-organized prayer legally banned a decade ago. The initial U.S. Supreme Court ban on state-sponsored prayer came on June 25, 1962. State provisions for recitation of the Lord's Prayer and devotional reading of the Bible were barred a year later.  Voluntary prayer encouraged by school boards was outlawed in 1971. Times of voluntary prayer outside of class hours and conducted by students without any degree of encouragement from officials or teachers today takes place in some areas. Religion News Service file photo

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