Justices Struggle to Replace Oft-Criticized Religion Lemon Test

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has twice chided government entities in the span of a week for following an oft-criticized ruling intended to ferret out excessive entanglement with religion. The so-called Lemon test remains on the books, even as the justices act as if it is no longer good law.

“This Court long ago interred Lemon, and it is past time for local officials and lower courts to let it lie,” Gorsuch said in a May 2 concurring opinion, referring to the court’s 1971 ruling in Lemon v. Kurtzman, which created a test for evaluating Establishment Clause cases. ...