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 New Hampshire, 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 New Hampshire's government cannot establish an official religion nor can it unduly interfere with the religious practices of its citizens. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Establishment Clause to require a balance between avoiding governmental endorsement of religion and recognizing the historical role of religion in American life. This has led to a variety of rulings that permit some acknowledgment of religion in public life, such as legislative prayers, while prohibiting actions that could be seen as government endorsement of a particular religion, such as school-led prayers or the erection of religious symbols on public property without a secular context. New Hampshire must navigate this balance in its laws and practices, ensuring that any recognition of religion in public spaces or by government entities is inclusive and does not suggest a preference for one faith over another.