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
The coercion test helps the Supreme Court determine whether government practices violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause. It is most often used in public school cases.| 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
Marsh v. Chambers (1983) found that the practice of hiring a chaplain to open the legislative day with prayer did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Chief Justice Warren Burger introduced the Lemon test for determining whether government actions violated the establishment clause of the 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