Which of the following would meet the Lemon Test and would be legal under the First Amendment?
A. Taxpayer money goes to a private religious school in order to furnish Bibles to all students.
B. Taxpayer money goes to a private religious school in order to pay the salary of a school bus driver.
C. Taxpayer money goes to a public school in order to pay the salary of a youth minister.
D. Taxpayer money goes to a public school in order to pay for facilities used for religious meetings during instructional time.
B. Taxpayer money goes to a private religious school in order to pay the salary of a school bus driver.
The Lemon Test is a three-pronged test used to determine whether a law or government action violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. According to the Lemon Test, the following criteria must be met for a law to be legal:
1. The primary purpose of the law must be secular.
2. The law's primary effect must neither advance nor inhibit religion.
3. The law must not result in excessive government entanglement with religion.
Applying this test to the given scenarios:
A. Taxpayer money going to a private religious school to furnish Bibles to all students would likely not meet the Lemon Test. Providing religious materials seems to have a primary purpose of advancing religion, which may violate the first prong.
B. Taxpayer money going to a private religious school to pay the salary of a school bus driver would not typically violate the Lemon Test. The primary purpose of paying a bus driver's salary is secular, and there is no excessive government entanglement with religion.
C. Taxpayer money going to a public school to pay the salary of a youth minister would likely violate the Lemon Test. This scenario involves using taxpayer money for a religious role within a public school, which may violate both the primary effect and excessive entanglement prongs.
D. Taxpayer money going to a public school to pay for facilities used for religious meetings during instructional time would likely violate the Lemon Test. Allowing religious meetings during instructional time may be seen as advancing religion, violating the first prong.
In summary, option B (taxpayer money going to a private religious school to pay the salary of a school bus driver) is the only option that would meet the Lemon Test and would likely be legal under the First Amendment.
To determine which of the options meet the Lemon Test and would be legal under the First Amendment, we need to understand the Lemon Test itself. The Lemon Test is a principle used by the courts to evaluate whether a law or action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from promoting or endorsing religion.
The Lemon Test was established by the Supreme Court in the case Lemon v. Kurtzman in 1971. According to this test, a law or action must meet three requirements to be considered constitutional:
1. The purpose of the law or action must have a secular (non-religious) purpose.
2. The primary effect of the law or action must not advance or inhibit religion.
3. The law or action must not create excessive entanglement between government and religion.
Now let's apply the Lemon Test to each of the given options:
A. Taxpayer money goes to a private religious school in order to furnish Bibles to all students.
This option would likely fail the Lemon Test. It involves taxpayer money being used to specifically promote a religious text (the Bible) to all students, which could be seen as advancing religion and lacking a purely secular purpose.
B. Taxpayer money goes to a private religious school in order to pay the salary of a school bus driver.
This option would likely pass the Lemon Test. It involves taxpayer money being allocated to a private religious school for a secular purpose, which is paying the salary of a school bus driver. The primary effect of the law or action does not advance religion and doesn't excessively entangle the government and religion.
C. Taxpayer money goes to a public school in order to pay the salary of a youth minister.
This option would likely fail the Lemon Test. It involves taxpayer money being used to pay the salary of a youth minister, which implies an endorsement and promotion of religious activities within a public school setting. This would likely violate both the purpose and effect prongs of the Lemon Test.
D. Taxpayer money goes to a public school in order to pay for facilities used for religious meetings during instructional time.
This option would likely fail the Lemon Test. It involves taxpayer money being allocated to a public school for the purpose of hosting religious meetings during instructional time. This would likely be viewed as a government endorsement and advance of religion, violating the purpose and effect prongs of the Lemon Test.
In summary, based on the Lemon Test, option B (Taxpayer money goes to a private religious school in order to pay the salary of a school bus driver) is the only option that would likely be legal under the First Amendment as it has a secular purpose and does not advance or inhibit religion.