The State Of Blaine: A Closer Look At the Blaine Amendments And Their Modern Applications

From The Heritage Foundation and The Federalist Society:

The Constitution/Civil Liberties






The State of Blaine: A Closer Look at the Blaine Amendments and Their Modern Application



by Meir Katz



Federalist Society



June 21, 2011



Engage





Governments aid religious organizations in a wide variety of ways. For example, governments provide vouchers that students can use to attend private schools, and support religious organizations that provide social services to the needy. These programs, and many more, are permissible under the Establishment Clause of the Federal Constitution. But many of these programs have been struck down under state “Blaine Amendments.” Although their scope and phraseology varies widely, these amendments impose a per se bar against government funding to a “religious sect or denomination” or for any “sectarian” purpose. This article explores the important role that the Blaine Amendments play in deciding modern church-state legal questions.





URL: www.fed-soc.org/doclib/20110603_KatzEngage12.1.pdf