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 Arkansas, 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 the state acknowledges the historical role of religion in American life, it must also maintain a separation between church and state. The U.S. Supreme Court has set forth a complex balancing test to navigate this constitutional mandate. In practice, this has led to legal challenges in Arkansas regarding religious displays on public property and prayer in public schools, among other issues. The courts have often used the 'Lemon test' from the Supreme Court's decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman, which examines the purpose, effect, and entanglement of government with religion. Arkansas must navigate these legal precedents to ensure that while it may recognize religious influences on its history and culture, it does not endorse or promote specific religious practices or beliefs through its governmental actions.