lemon v. kurtzman
Year: 1971
Result: 8-0, favor Lemon
Related Constitutional issue/Amendment: 1st Amendment (Religion); Establishment Clause
Civil rights or Civil liberties: Civil liberties
Significance/precedent: Established the Lemon Test: in order for a statute to be constitutional it must have "a secular legislative purpose," it must have principal effects which neither advance nor inhibit religion, and it must not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion." This test was applied to Earley v. DiCenso (1971) and Robinson v. DiCenso (1971) as well. This test helped to better define the separation of church and state.
Quote from majority opinion: “The court held a hearing at which extensive evidence was introduced concerning the nature of the secular instruction offered in the Roman Catholic schools whose teachers would be eligible for salary assistance under the Act. Although the court found that concern for religious values does not necessarily affect the content of secular subjects, it also found that the parochial school system was "an integral part of the religious mission of the Catholic Church."
The District Court concluded that the Act violated the Establishment Clause, holding that it fostered "excessive entanglement" between government and religion. In addition, two judges thought that the Act had the impermissible effect of giving "significant aid to a religious enterprise.”
6-word summary: Separation, Church and State: Lemon Test
Result: 8-0, favor Lemon
Related Constitutional issue/Amendment: 1st Amendment (Religion); Establishment Clause
Civil rights or Civil liberties: Civil liberties
Significance/precedent: Established the Lemon Test: in order for a statute to be constitutional it must have "a secular legislative purpose," it must have principal effects which neither advance nor inhibit religion, and it must not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion." This test was applied to Earley v. DiCenso (1971) and Robinson v. DiCenso (1971) as well. This test helped to better define the separation of church and state.
Quote from majority opinion: “The court held a hearing at which extensive evidence was introduced concerning the nature of the secular instruction offered in the Roman Catholic schools whose teachers would be eligible for salary assistance under the Act. Although the court found that concern for religious values does not necessarily affect the content of secular subjects, it also found that the parochial school system was "an integral part of the religious mission of the Catholic Church."
The District Court concluded that the Act violated the Establishment Clause, holding that it fostered "excessive entanglement" between government and religion. In addition, two judges thought that the Act had the impermissible effect of giving "significant aid to a religious enterprise.”
6-word summary: Separation, Church and State: Lemon Test