The Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In applying the Establishment Clause to disputes ranging from prayer in schools and in state legislatures to monuments displaying the Ten Commandments or crosses on public grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged the strong role played by religion and religious traditions throughout our Nation's history—while recognizing that governmental intervention in religious matters can itself endanger religious freedom.
The Supreme Court described this balancing act: “Our institutions presuppose a Supreme Being, yet these institutions must not press religious observances upon their citizens. One face looks to the past in acknowledgment of our Nation's heritage, while the other looks to the present in demanding a separation between church and state. Reconciling these two faces requires that we neither abdicate our responsibility to maintain a division between church and state nor evince a hostility to religion by disabling the government from in some ways recognizing our religious heritage.”
In Texas, as in all states, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from making any law 'respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' This means that while Texas can acknowledge the historical role of religion in the United States, it cannot enact laws or policies that favor one religion over another or that coerce individuals to participate in religious activities. The U.S. Supreme Court has set forth a complex framework for evaluating whether government actions violate the Establishment Clause, often involving a balancing test that considers whether the action has a secular purpose, whether its primary effect advances or inhibits religion, and whether it fosters an excessive government entanglement with religion. In Texas, this has implications for a variety of issues, including the presence of religious symbols on public property, the conduct of prayers in public schools, and the inclusion of religious content in state-sponsored programs. The state must navigate these matters carefully to maintain the constitutionally required separation between church and state while respecting religious freedoms.
