RELIGION AND THE

AMERICAN

CONSTITUTIONAL

EXPERIMENT Chapter 9

Government and Religious Education

Government and Religious

Education

The Supreme Court’s cases on the role of

government in religious education fall into

three main phases:

1. Accommodationist 1908-1971

2. Strict Separationist 1971-1986

3. Equal Treatment 1986-

Accommodationist Cases (1908-

1986)

Prior to 1947, the Court had based its

decisions on general principles of liberty and

fairness, and applying common law rather than

the First Amendment directly.

These early cases provided the foundation for

a general accommodationist logic about the

place of government in religious schools that

emerged in cases after 1947.

Accommodationism

The Court’s arguments:

Public schools are only one form of lower education –

religious schools provide a valuable and viable

alternative.

It is not a violation of the free exercise clause for

states to require private religious schools to meet

accreditation requirements.

It is also no violation of the establishment clause for

private religious schools to receive the same general

forms of government support that are given to public

schools to meet secular educational requirements.

Accommodationist Cases

Everson v. Board of Education (1947)

Board of Education v. Allen (1968)

Tilton v. Richardson (1971)

Hunt v. McNair (1973)

Roemer v. Maryland Public Works Board

(1977)

Separationist Cases (1971-1985)

In the early 1970s, using the three-part Lemon

test, the Court adopted a firm policy against

governmental aid to religious schools and

against cooperation between religious and

public schools, teachers, students and

programs.

Funding for religious colleges did continue;

however, it was ended for religious grade

schools and high schools.

Separationist Cases

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Committee for Public Education v. Nyquist

(1973)

Sloan v. Lemon (1973)

Aguilar v. Felton (1985)

Equal Treatment Cases (1983-

2004)

The core holdings of the separationist cases

from 1971-1985 haven’t changed.

However, in several recent cases, the Court

has upheld various government programs that

grant to religious students or their parents the

same general benefits afforded to others.

Equal Treatment Cases

Mueller v. Allen (1983)

Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind (1986)

Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993)

Agostini v. Felton (1997)

Mitchell v. Helms (2000)

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

Locke v. Davey (2004)