Why a Coercion Test is of No Use in Establishment Clause Cases

Abstract

Of late, a number of important Establishment Clause cases have been decided on the basis of a coercion test. Some important scholarly support has emerged for such an approach. Certainly other Establishment Clause tests, including the three-part test enunciated in Lemon v. Kurtzman, have been subjected to serious critique. But the deficiencies of the alternative tests do not validate a coercion test in the Establishment Clause area or, for that matter, in any other area of the law. This Article illustrates the uselessness of coercion tests in the Establishment Clause context.