ABSTRACT
The Allegheny case represents yet another attempt by the Court to sort out Establishment Clause doctrine and to confine the government to neutrality without requiring it to promote secularism. The decision in County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, was one in a series of efforts by the US Supreme Court to clarify the meaning of the test developed in Lemon v. Kurtzman, and to balance the First Amendment need for state neutrality toward religion and the right of citizens to practice their religion freely. The Court had to determine whether the display created an "excessive entanglement" between government and religion. The "endorsement" language shifted the focus from the Court's assessment of entanglement to the public's probable reading of the display. A large cross attached to the top of the courthouse, year-round, would clearly constitute an attempt to proselytize.
