Consequently, the court found there is no genuine nexus between the tax exemption and
establishment of religion that violates the Establishment Clause under the Lemon test.
Embodied in the First Amendment of the Constitution, the Establishment Clause states that Congress shall make no law "respecting an
establishment of religion." The intent was not to remove religion from the public square, but to prevent Congress from establishing a state-sponsored church along the lines of the Church of England.
The Free Exercise Clause is one of two "religion clauses" in the First Amendment, the other one being the "Establishment Clause." The amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ..."
Supreme Court erased all doubt as to whether the use of government funds to send children to religious schools violates the First Amendment's ban on the "
establishment of religion." It does not, the court said in a 5-4 decision.
Neither that program nor the courtroom prayer specifically appears to violate the clause of the First Amendment that states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," Paxton's opinion states.
Allowing Kennedy, a public employee who was still working, to recite what had become group prayers largely in the Christian faith was an obvious violation of the Constitution's prohibition of laws "respecting an
establishment of religion."
Establishment: The First Amendment prohibited "an
establishment of religion." The examples that the Framers knew were European.
It reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...
(2) To review, the First Amendment begins, "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Chambers ruling that opening prayers at the Nebraska Legislature's sessions did not violate the First Amendment prohibition against
establishment of religion. The Town of Greece ruling, a contentious 5-4 vote along conservative-liberal lines, also established that prayers can be primarily sectarian--associated with one particular religion-- rather than nonsectarian, or unaffiliated with a single religion.
Constitution's ban on the
establishment of religion.
Topics include the free exercise of religion,
establishment of religion, the extent and manner of true church autonomy, the practice of religion and politics, and the practice of teaching about religion.