Which case established the Lemon test for evaluating government establishment of religion?

Which case established the Lemon test for evaluating government establishment of religion?

• A. Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
• B. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
• C. Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah (1993)
• D. Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Answer: (B)

The question tests how courts assess government actions related to religion under the Establishment Clause. The key framework asks three things: does the action have a secular purpose, is its principal effect neither advancing nor inhibiting religion, and does it avoid excessive entanglement between government and religion. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) is the case that established this three-part test, applying it to state funding for private religious and secular schools and holding such funding unconstitutional because it failed at least one prong. The other cases mentioned deal with different Establishment Clause issues—Engel v. Vitale addressed school-sponsored prayer, Abington School District v. Schempp dealt with Bible readings, and Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah involved free exercise concerns—so they do not establish the framework used here.

The question tests how courts assess government actions related to religion under the Establishment Clause. The key framework asks three things: does the action have a secular purpose, is its principal effect neither advancing nor inhibiting religion, and does it avoid excessive entanglement between government and religion. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) is the case that established this three-part test, applying it to state funding for private religious and secular schools and holding such funding unconstitutional because it failed at least one prong. The other cases mentioned deal with different Establishment Clause issues—Engel v. Vitale addressed school-sponsored prayer, Abington School District v. Schempp dealt with Bible readings, and Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah involved free exercise concerns—so they do not establish the framework used here.