Question

A state has passed a law providing tax dollars to catholic charities. however, the state will need to work closely with each charity to ensure the money is being spent appropriately. state officials and religious officials will decide together whether each expenditure is allowed. an atheist organization sues the state, claiming that the law violates the first amendment. according to the lemon test, should the supreme court find the law constitutional or unconstitutional, and why?

Answer 1

In order to answer this question, we have to understand what the Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test are.

The Establishment Clause is intended to prevent governmental endorsement or support of religion. It prevents both the endorsement of a particular religion and the general endorsement of religion over non-religion. The Lemon Test is a test that is meant to determine whether a law violates this Establishment Clause:

• Does the law have a secular purpose? If not, it violates the Establishment Clause.
• Is the primary effect either to advance religion or to inhibit religion? If so, it violates the Establishment Clause.
• Does the law foster an excessive governmental entanglement with religion? If so, it violates the Establishment Clause.

In this example, it appears that the law should be found unconstitutional because the law fosters excessive governmental entanglement with religion.

Answer 2

Unconstitutional, as it causes the government to become entangled with religion