2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Engel v. Vitale, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools, “even if the prayer is denominationally neutral and pupils who wish to do so may remain silent or be excused from the room while the prayer is being recited.”

2012 also marks the 60th consecutive National Day of Prayer, as first declared by the President and Congress in 1952.

Laying aside legal/constitutional arguments about either:

Why do we pray in public? When and where is public prayer inappropriate? Are there too many restrictions on public prayer? Too few?