June 17, 1963 - The Rev. Billy Graham (pictured last month in Paris) said today he was “shocked” by the Supreme Court’s ruling that use of The Lord’s Prayer and Bible readings as devotional opening exercises in public schools is unconstitutional. “I am shocked at the Supreme Court’s decision,” said Mr. Graham, who is conducting an evangelism campaign in West Germany. “Prayer and Bible reading have been a part of American public school life since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Now, a Supreme Court in 1963 says our father were wrong all these years. In my opinion, it is the Supreme Court that is wrong. At a time when moral decadence is evident on every hand, when race tension is mounting, when the threat of Communism is growing, when terrifying new weapons of destruction are being created, we need more religion, not less. Eighty percent of the American people want Bible reading and prayer in the schools. Why should the majority be so severely penalized by the protests of a handful?”
