Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004) avoided addressing whether the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance violated the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Zorach v. Clauson (1952) said the released time policy of New York violated neither the free exercise nor establishment clause of the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Prayer at public school events can involve three clauses of the First Amendment: the establishment, the free exercise, and the free speech.| The Free Speech Center
In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court said that providing funds to church-run schools was unconstitutional because it resulted in excessive entanglement with religion.| The Free Speech Center
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia viewed First Amendment protections in a narrow, but sometimes libertarian, fashion. He considered himself an "originalist."| The Free Speech Center
Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president, supported a free and independent press, but thought the Supreme Court got it wrong on school prayer.| The Free Speech Center
The 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was the driving force behind the religious clauses of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791.| The Free Speech Center
Freedom of religion guarantees the right to freely exercise one's faith and to be free from government imposition of religion.| The Free Speech Center
When the First Amendment was ratified, it did not eliminate established churches in states where they existed. Eventually, all established churches were disestablished.| The Free Speech Center
The recognition and celebration of religious holidays by government can run counter to the First Amendment prohibition of government endorsing a particular religion.| The Free Speech Center
The Supreme Court used the three-pronged Lemon test for nearly four decades to evaluate whether a law or governmental activity violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The test was largely abandoned by 2022.| The Free Speech Center
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) said requiring students to salute the American flag infringed upon First Amendment freedoms of belief and speech.| The Free Speech Center
Robert Jackson, a Supreme Court justice from 1941 to 1954, believed strongly in separation of church and state and free speech protections First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) struck down a state law requiring a minute of silence in public schools. The Court said the law had a religious purpose and violated the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) upheld the inclusion of a manger scene in a Christmas display on government property against a First Amendment establishment clause challenge.| The Free Speech Center
Explore the concept of religion neutrality and its implications in Supreme Court decisions regarding the establishment clause.| The Free Speech Center
Governments must treat atheism like a religion for purposes of the First Amendment. The establishment clause prohibits the government from favoring religion over non-religion.| The Free Speech Center
Everson v. Board of Education (1947) said spending tax funds to bus children to religious schools did not breach the First Amendment establishment clause.| The Free Speech Center
Engel v. Vitale (1962) ruled that school-sponsored prayer in public schools violated the First Amendment even though participation in the prayer was voluntary.| The Free Speech Center
Abington School District v. Schempp (1963) ended devotional exercises in public schools because the First Amendment forbade the recognition of one religion over others.| The Free Speech Center