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The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment refers to the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society . . . " Together with the Free Exercise Clause, (". The Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. . . or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"), these two clauses make up what are commonly known as the "religion clauses" of the First Amendment.

The establishment clause has generally been interpreted to prohibit 1) the establishment of a national religion by Congress, or 2) the preference of one religion over another or the support of a religious idea with no identifiable secular purpose. The first approach is called the "separationist" or "no aid" interpretation, while the second approach is called the "non-preferentialist" or "accommodationist" interpretation. In separationist interpretation, the clause prohibits Congress from aiding religion in any way even if such aid is made without regard to denomination. The accommodationist interpretation prohibits Congress from preferring one religion over another, but does not prohibit the government's entry into religious domain to make accommodations in order to achieve the purposes of the Free Exercise Clause. The Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The clause itself was seen as a reaction to the Church of England, established as the official church of England and some of the colonies, during the colonial era. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican

Prior to the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1868, the Supreme Court generally held that the substantive protections of the Bill of Rights did not apply to state governments. The Fourteenth Amendment ( Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution is one of the post- Civil War Reconstruction Amendments, first The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. A Bill of Rights is a list or summary of rights that are considered important and essential by a group of people Subsequently, under the Incorporation doctrine the Bill of Rights have been broadly applied to limit state and local government as well. Incorporation (of the Bill of Rights is the American legal doctrine by which portions of the Bill of Rights are applied to the states through the For example, in the Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet (1994), the majority of the court joined Justice David Souter's opinion, which stated that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion. Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v Grumet, 512 U For the Australian artist see David Henry Souter. David Hackett Souter (ˈsutɚ born September 17, 1939) has been an "

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Financial assistance

The Supreme Court first considered the question of financial assistance to religious organizations in Bradfield v. Roberts (1899). The federal government had funded a hospital operated by a Roman Catholic institution. In that case, the Court ruled that the funding was to a secular organization—the hospital—and was therefore permissible. Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from Religion or religious beliefs

In the twentieth century, the Supreme Court more closely scrutinized government activity involving religious institutions. In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Supreme Court upheld a New Jersey statute funding student transportation to schools, whether parochial or not. Everson v Board of Education, 330 US 1 ( 1947) was the seminal United States Supreme Court case in Establishment Clause law in the New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. Parochial school is one term used (particularly in the United States) to describe a school that engages in Religious education in addition to conventional Education Justice Hugo Black held,

The "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the federal government can set up a church. Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27 1886&ndashSeptember 25 1971 was an American politician and jurist. The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect "a wall of separation between church and State. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence "

Despite these stringent requirements, the New Jersey law was upheld, for it applied "to all its citizens without regard to their religious belief. "

The Jefferson quotation cited in Black's opinion is from a letter Jefferson wrote in 1802 to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, that the establishment clause erected "a wall of separation between church and state. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Separation of church and state is a Political and Legal Doctrine that Government and religious institutions are to be kept separate " Critics of Black's reasoning (most notably, former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist) have argued that the majority of states did have "official" churches at the time of the First Amendment's adoption and that James Madison, not Jefferson, was the principal drafter. William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1 1924 – September 3 2005 was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice James Madison Jr (March 16 1751 – June 28 1836 was an American Politician, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817 and one of the Founding However, Madison himself often wrote of "total separation of the church from the state" (1819 letter to Robert Walsh), "perfect separation between the ecclesiastical and civil matters" (1822 letter to Livingston), "line of separation between the rights of religion and the civil authority. Robert Walsh (Robert Walsh Jr (1785 - 7 February 1859) was a publicist and diplomat . . entire abstinence of the government" (1832 letter Rev. Adams), and "practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government as essential to the purity of both, and as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States" (1811 letter to Baptist Churches).

In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that government may not "excessively entangle" with religion. Lemon v Kurtzman, 403 US 602 ( 1971) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Pennsylvania 's The case involved two state laws: one permitting the state to "purchase" services in secular fields from religious schools, and the other permitting the state to pay a percentage of the salaries of private school teachers, including teachers in religious institutions. The Supreme Court found that the government was "excessively entangled" with religion, and invalidated the statutes in question. The excessive entanglement test, together with the secular purpose and primary effect tests thereafter became known as the Lemon test, which judges have often used to test the constitutionality of a statute on establishment clause grounds. Lemon v Kurtzman, 403 US 602 ( 1971) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Pennsylvania 's

The Supreme Court decided Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist and Sloan v. Lemon in 1973. In both cases, states—New York and Pennsylvania—had enacted laws whereby public tax revenues would be paid to low-income parents so as to permit them to send students to private schools. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern It was held that in both cases, the state unconstitutionally provided aid to religious organizations. The ruling was partially reversed in Mueller v. Allen (1983). There, the Court upheld a Minnesota statute permitting the use of tax revenues to reimburse parents of students. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers The Court noted that the Minnesota statute granted such aid to parents of all students, whether they attended public or private schools.

While the Court has prevented states from directly funding parochial schools, it has not stopped them from aiding religious colleges and universities. In Tilton v. Richardson (1971), the Court permitted the use of public funds for the construction of facilities in religious institutions of higher learning. It was found that there was no "excessive entanglement" since the buildings were themselves not religious, unlike teachers in parochial schools, and because the aid came in the form of a one-time grant, rather than continuous assistance. One of the largest recent controversies over the amendment centered on school vouchers—government aid for students to attend private and predominantly religious schools. A school voucher, also called an education voucher, is a certificate issued by the government by which parents can pay for the Education of their children at a The Supreme Court, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), upheld the constitutionality of private school vouchers, turning away an Establishment Clause challenge. Zelman v Simmons-Harris,, was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court which tested the allowance of School vouchers in relation to the

School prayer

Earl Warren was Chief Justice when Engel v. Vitale was decided.
Earl Warren was Chief Justice when Engel v. Vitale was decided. Earl Warren ( March 19, 1891 July 9, 1974) was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and the only person ever elected thrice Engel v Vitale, 370 US 421 ( 1962) was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional

Further important decisions came in the 1960s, during the Warren Court era. The Warren Court (1953-1969 represents a period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States that was marked by one of the starkest and most dramatic One of the Court's most controversial decisions came in Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962. Engel v Vitale, 370 US 421 ( 1962) was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional The case involved a prayer written by the New York Board of Regents. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The prayer read "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country" and was said to be non-denominational. The Supreme Court deemed it necessary to strike it down with Justice Black writing, "it is no part of the official business of government to compose official prayers for any group of American people to recite as part of a religious program carried out by the Government. " The reading of the Lord's Prayer or of the Bible in the classroom of a public school by the teacher was ruled unconstitutional in 1963. The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is probably the best-known Prayer in Christianity. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The ruling did not apply to parochial or private schools in general. The decision has been criticized by many, including the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, and especially evangelical Protestants. The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1 1924 – September 3 2005 was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

In Abington Township v. Schempp (1963), the case involving the reading of the Lord's Prayer in class, the Supreme Court introduced the "secular purpose" and "primary effect" tests, which were to be used to determine compatibility with the establishment clause. Abington Township School District v Schempp (consolidated with Murray v Essentially, the law in question must have a valid secular purpose, and its primary effect must not be to promote or inhibit a particular religion. Since the law requiring the recital of the Lord's Prayer violated these tests, it was struck down. The "excessive entanglement" test was added in Lemon v. Kurtzman (vide supra).

In Wallace v. Jaffree (1985), the Supreme Court struck down an Alabama law whereby students in public schools would observe daily a period of silence for the purpose of private prayer. Wallace v Jaffree,, was a United States Supreme Court case deciding on the issue of silent School prayer. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. The Court did not, however, find that the moment of silence was itself unconstitutional. Rather, it ruled that Alabama lawmakers had passed the statute solely to advance religion, thereby violating the secular purpose test.

The 1990s were marked by controversies surrounding religion's role in public affairs. In Lee v. Weisman (1992), the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the offering of prayers by religious officials before voluntarily attended ceremonies such as graduation. Lee v Weisman, 505 US 577 ( 1992) was a United States Supreme Court decision regarding school prayer Thus, the Court established that the state could not conduct religious exercises at public occasions even if attendance was not strictly compulsory. In Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe (2000), the Court ruled that even a vote of the student body could not authorize student-led prayer prior to school events. Santa Fe Independent School Dist v Doe, 530 US 290 ( 2000) was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court.

In 2002, controversy centered on a ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Newdow v. United States Congress (2002), which struck down a California law providing for the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (which includes the phrase "under God") in classrooms. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal court with Appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts Newdow v United States Congress Elk Grove Unified School District et al California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. History The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931 a Baptist minister a Christian Socialist, and the cousin of Socialist Utopian Each House of Congress passed resolutions reaffirming their support for the pledge; the Senate vote was 99–0 and the House vote was 416–3. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case, but did not rule on the merits, instead reversing the Ninth Circuit's decision on standing grounds.

Religious displays

The inclusion of religious symbols in public holiday displays came before the Supreme Court in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984), and again in Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU (1989). Lynch v Donnelly, 465 US 668 (1984 was a case in the Supreme Court of the United States challenging the legality of holiday decorations on town property In County of Allegheny v ACLU, 492 US 573 (1989 the US Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of two recurring holiday displays located on In the former case, the Court upheld the public display of a crèche, ruling that any benefit to religion was "indirect, remote, and incidental. A nativity scene may be used to describe any depiction of the Nativity of Jesus in art, but in the sense covered here also called a crib or manger in the " In Allegheny County, however, the Court struck down a crèche display, which occupied a prominent position in the county courthouse and bore the words Gloria in Excelsis Deo, the words sung by the angels at the Nativity (Luke 2:14 in the Latin Vulgate translation). " Gloria in excelsis Deo " ( Latin for "Glory to God in the highest" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition For depictions in painting and sculpture see Nativity of Jesus in art. The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by At the same time, the Allegheny County Court upheld the display of a nearby menorah, which appeared along with a Christmas tree and a sign saluting liberty, reasoning that "the combined display of the tree, the sign, and the menorah. Hanukkah Menorah ( Hebrew: מנורה menorah) (also חַנֻכִּיָּה Hanukiah, or Chanukkiyah, pl Hanukkah Menorah ( Hebrew: מנורה menorah) (also חַנֻכִּיָּה Hanukiah, or Chanukkiyah, pl . . simply recognizes that both Christmas and Hanukkah are part of the same winter-holiday season, which has attained a secular status in our society. Hanukkah (חנוכה alt Chanukah) also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the "Christmas season" redirects here For other uses see Christmas season (disambiguation. "

A recent controversy surrounded Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of Alabama. Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American Jurist and Republican Politician noted for his refusal as the Moore had in 2001 installed a monument to the Ten Commandments in the state judicial building. The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that according to Judeo-Christian tradition were authored by God and given In 2003, he was ordered in the case of Glassroth v. Moore by a federal judge to remove the monument, but he refused to comply, ultimately leading to his removal from office. Glassroth v Moore, CV-01-T-1268-N 229 F Supp 2d 1290 ( MD Ala The Supreme Court refused to hear the case, allowing the lower court's decision to stand.

On March 2, 2005, the Supreme Court heard arguments for two cases involving religious displays, Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky. Van Orden v Perry, 545 US 677 ( 2005) was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, involving whether a government-sponsored McCreary County v ACLU of Kentucky, 545 US 844 ( 2005) is a case which was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on March 2 These were the first cases directly dealing with display of the Ten Commandments the Court had heard since Stone v. Graham (1980). Stone v Graham,, was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Kentucky statute requiring the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments These cases were decided on June 27, 2005. In Van Orden, the Court upheld, by a 5-4 vote, the legality of a Ten Commandments display at the Texas state capitol due to the monument's "secular purpose. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. " In McCreary County, however, the Court ruled 5-4 that displays of the Ten Commandments in several Kentucky county courthouses were illegal because they were not clearly integrated with a secular display, and thus were considered to have a religious purpose. The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America.

It is worth noting that among the eighteen influential lawgivers depicted in the north and south friezes of the Supreme Court building are two religious figures: Moses and Muhammad. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics [1] Moses is depicted holding the Ten Commandments, commandments six through ten partially visible in Hebrew; Mohammad is depicted holding the Qur'an, the primary source of Islamic Law. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. The Supreme Court building depicts religious imagery in similar contexts in other places as well, including two additional sets of tablets representing the Ten Commandments.

See also

References

Research resources

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