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 York, 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 York state and its public institutions must navigate a careful path that respects both the historical role of religion in American life and the imperative to maintain a separation between church and state. The U.S. Supreme Court has set forth a complex body of case law interpreting the Establishment Clause, which includes decisions on prayer in public schools, religious displays on public property, and the extent to which state legislatures can engage in religious activities. New York must comply with these federal precedents, ensuring that it neither promotes a particular religion nor exhibits hostility towards religious practices, thereby upholding the constitutional balance between acknowledging religious heritage and maintaining a secular government.