How has the Supreme Court interpreted the First Amendment's establishment clause?

The Supreme Court has interpreted the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution in multiple cases over the past decades. It states that the government cannot make a law that establishes a religion. In the Lemon v. Kurtzman case, the Supreme Court developed a test to determine whether a law violates the establishment clause. This test, known as the Lemon test, requires that the law must have a secular purpose, have principal effects that neither advance nor inhibit religion, and not foster excessive government entanglement with religion. In other cases, such as Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe and Lee v. Weisman, the Supreme Court has ruled that prayer at public school functions is unconstitutional. The Court determined that it constituted a government establishment of religion by attempting to influence student religious beliefs. In Wallace v. Jaffree, the Supreme Court interpreted the establishment clause to mean that a state statute allowing for a period of silence within the classroom for students to meditate or pray violated the establishment clause. The Court found that the statute was meant solely to encourage students to pray which was in violation of the First Amendment. Recently, the Supreme Court heard a case concerning an Arizona law which provides tax credits to individuals who donate money to organizations which give scholarships to students attending private schools, including religious schools. The Court will decide whether the tax credits violate the establishment clause by providing government assistance to religious organizations. Overall, the Supreme Court has interpreted the establishment clause of the First Amendment to mean that the government cannot make a law that establishes a religion, that government cannot influence student religious beliefs, and that government cannot provide government assistance to religious organizations.

How has the Supreme Court interpreted the First Amendment's establishment clause?

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