Tilton v. Richardson
Tilton v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 672 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court case holding that one-time construction grants to religious colleges and universities under Title I of the Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963 do not violate the Establishment or Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.Applying the effect prong of the Lemon test, the Court severs and strikes down one provision of the Act that limited enforcement of secular use restrictions to a 20-year period.[1] Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Warren Burger explained that theLemon criteria were "guidelines with which to identify instances in which the objectives of the Religion Clauses have been impaired".1 v. Allen and Walz v. Tax Comm'n of the City of New York they rejected appellants "simplistic argument" that the Establishment Clause requires a blanket ban on financial aid to religious organizations: "The crucial question is not whether some benefit accrues to a religious institution as a consequence of the legislative program, but whether its principal or primary effect advances religion".[d] The Court said inTilton that the "minimal" inspections required to enforce compliance with secular use restrictions will not result in excessive entanglements between government and religious authorities.