How has the Supreme Court interpreted the establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment?

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the federal government from directly or indirectly establishing an official religion. This clause has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court on multiple occasions, often in cases involving prayer in school and other public activities. In its 1962 ruling in Engel v. Vitale, the Supreme Court held that sponsored religious activities are unconstitutional. This ruling made it illegal for public officials to compose or endorse religious prayers in public schools. A decade later in Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Court held that government programs must have a secular purpose, cannot excessively entangle the state with religion, and must not give preferential treatment to any one religion. The Supreme Court also ruled in Stone v. Graham that the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The Court determined that posting the Ten Commandments violated Lemon v. Kurtzman because it lacked a secular purpose and showed preference to a particular religion. In summary, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to mean that the government cannot establish or endorse an official religion, nor legally endorse any particular religion. The government cannot compose religious prayers in public schools, give preference to a religion in any way, or post religious texts or symbols so that they are on prominent display in public areas. This interpretation of the clause serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting the separation of church and state.

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How has the Supreme Court interpreted the establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment?

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