Establishment Clause

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion."

The Clause has generally been interpreted to prohibit: 1) the establishment of a national religion by Congress, or 2) the preference by the federal government of one religion over another. The first approach is called the "separation" or "no aid" interpretation, while the second approach is called the "non-preferential" or "accommodation" interpretation. The accommodation interpretation prohibits Congress from preferring one religion over another, but does not prohibit the government's entry into religious domain to make accommodations in order to achieve the purposes of the Free Exercise Clause.