Everson V Board Of Education Essay

Religion has played integral role in shaping American society since its founding, almost two-hundred and fifty years ago. From the Declaration of Independence, which acknowledged “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God,” to George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, which established “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” in recognition of “the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God… and humbly to implore His protection and favor,” many of America’s founding fathers freely recognized the authority and importance of religion. Yet, the First Amendment of the Constitution forbids Congress, and, by the Fourteenth Amendment, states, from making any “law respecting an establishment of religion.” The tension between this vague Constitutional limitation and the inseparability of religion from American society has generated countless court cases. Since Everson v. Board of Education (1947)—in which Justice Black famously asserted that the First Amendment has built a “wall of separation between church and state… [which is] high and impregnable”—the Supreme Court has …show more content…
Kurtzman. In this case, the Court identified three “tests” which a statute must pass in order to be considered within the boundaries of the Establishment Clause. The first test, appropriately called the “purpose test,” mandated that a “statute must have a secular purpose.” The second test required that a statute’s “principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion.” The third and final test held that a statute “must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.” Collectively, these three tests comprise the individual “prongs” of the Lemon Test (Wallace 56). Failing meet any of these three criteria renders a statute