According to the Lemon test, established by the Supreme Court in 1971, to determine the constitutionality of government actions involving religion, the actions must have a secular purpose, not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and not result in excessive entanglement between government and religion.
From the given options, option B would likely meet the Lemon test and be legal under the First Amendment. This is because using taxpayer money to pay the salary of a school bus driver at a private religious school would have a secular purpose (providing transportation for students), would not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and would not result in excessive entanglement.
Options A, C, and D are more likely to violate the Lemon test and be considered unconstitutional. Option A involves using taxpayer money to furnish religious materials (bibles), which could be seen as advancing religion. Option C involves using taxpayer money to pay the salaries of youth ministers in public schools, which could also be viewed as advancing religion. Option D involves using taxpayer money to support religious meetings during instructional time, which might result in excessive entanglement between government and religion.
which of the following would meet the lemon test and would be legal under the first amendment?
A. taxpayers money goes to a private religious school in order to furnish bibles to all students.
B. taxpayer money goes to private religious school in order to pay the salary of a school bus driver.
C. taxpayer money goes to public schools in order to pay the salaries of youth minister.
D. taxpayer money goes to a public school in order to pay for facilities used for religious meetings during instructional time.
1 answer