The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution charges the government with guaranteeing religious freedom while prohibiting it from advancing the interests of any one church or faith. In recent years, the Supreme Court has ruled on a host of church-state issues, including school prayer, state-funded vouchers for religious schools, state financing of theological education and the placement of Christmas crèches, Ten Commandments monuments and similar displays on public property. But observers across the political spectrum often find these Supreme Court decisions confusing and sometimes find them contradictory, with different standards, principles and tests being applied at various times.
The Pew Forum offers a variety of resources that examine the relationship between religion and the law, including reports, event transcripts, polling data and the latest news.
In an ongoing series of occasional reports, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free exercise of religion, and government funding of religion
