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

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the free exercise of religion. The establishment clause of the First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”. This means that the government cannot pass any laws which would establish an official religion or give a religious group preferential treatment over any other group. The Supreme Court has interpreted the establishment clause in several important cases. In the 1947 case Everson v. Board of Education, the Court held that a state may not use public funds to directly finance religious activities. This case also established the “Lemon Test”, which stipulates that any law regarding religion must have a secular purpose, must not have the effect of promoting or inhibiting religion, and must not involve excessive entanglement between government and religion. In the 1992 case Lee v. Weisman, the Court held that the state could not mandate prayer at public school graduation ceremonies. The Court ruled that such a practice was unconstitutional, even if it included non-denominational prayer that could be seen as “nonsectarian” or “non-proselytizing”. More recently, in the 2018 case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment by targeting the religious beliefs of the baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. This case reaffirmed that the government must remain neutral when it comes to matters of religion. Overall, the Supreme Court has interpreted the establishment clause in a number of important cases, ruling that the government must remain neutral when it comes to matters of religion and that it cannot directly support religious activities with public funds or encourage its citizens to participate in religious activities.

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

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