Constitutional Law and Law and Religion Joint Program

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Fifty years ago, in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court famously set out a three-part test for Establishment Clause cases. Lemon’s world was one of heavy policing, government-sponsored religious messages, and significant restrictions on the governmental funding of religious institutions (like religious schools). Both parts of this are under fire, raising questions about whether the Establishment Clause’s future will look much like its past. With this as background, the panel offers a wide-ranging discussion of the future of the Establishment Clause.