Quick Takeaways

• The Lemon test was a three-part standard courts used for decades to evaluate whether laws violated the First Amendment's ban on government "establishment of religion."

• In 2022, the Supreme Court largely abandoned the Lemon test in favor of evaluating religious cases based on "historical practices and understandings."

• Understanding these legal shifts helps Christian parents navigate conversations about faith-based support and child protection laws like those at stake in Chiles v. Salazar.

• Neither the old test nor the new approach changes a fundamental truth: laws protecting children from harm serve everyone, including families of faith.

What Was the Lemon Test?

For nearly four decades, when courts needed to decide whether a law crossed the line between government and religion, they turned to something called the Lemon test. Named after a 1971 Supreme Court case called Lemon v. Kurtzman, this test gave judges three questions to ask about any law touching on religious matters.

First, did the law have a secular (non-religious) purpose? Second, did the law's main effect either help or hurt religion? Third, did the law create too much entanglement between government and religious institutions?

If a law failed any one of these questions, courts could strike it down as unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

For Christian parents trying to understand how courts approach cases involving faith, this matters. The Lemon test shaped decades of decisions about school prayer, government funding for religious schools, and religious displays on public property.

Why Did Courts Move Away From the Lemon Test?

Many Christians felt the Lemon test was applied unfairly, treating religious expression as something to be scrubbed from public life rather than protected. Over time, several Supreme Court justices criticized the test as confusing and inconsistent.

In 2022, the Supreme Court officially set the Lemon test aside. In a case called Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, involving a football coach who prayed on the field after games, the Court announced a new approach. Instead of applying the three-prong Lemon test, courts should now look at "historical practices and understandings" to decide whether government actions violate the Establishment Clause.

This shift reflects a broader trend toward protecting religious expression in public spaces. For many families of faith, this felt like a welcome change.

How Does This Connect to Conversion Therapy and Child Protection?

You might wonder what an old legal test has to do with Christian parents navigating questions about their gay or transgender child. The connection matters more than you might think.

When groups like Alliance Defending Freedom argue cases like Chiles v. Salazar, they often frame the issue as one of religious liberty. They suggest that laws protecting children from conversion therapy somehow burden religious practice or force therapists to violate their faith.

But here is what Christian parents need to understand: laws like Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law do not target religious belief. They regulate the professional conduct of licensed therapists to protect children from practices that medical consensus says cause harm. The law does not apply to pastors, youth ministers, or religious counselors. It applies only to licensed professionals who have agreed to follow professional standards.

Whether courts use the Lemon test or the newer "historical practices" approach, the principle remains the same. The government can regulate professional conduct that harms children without violating the First Amendment. A law does not become unconstitutional simply because some people disagree with it on religious grounds.

What Should Christian Parents Take Away?

Understanding these legal frameworks helps you evaluate the claims you hear in debates over faith-based therapy and child protection. When someone argues that protecting minors from harmful practices violates religious freedom, you can ask better questions.

Does the law actually target religious belief? Or does it regulate professional conduct that happens to involve some practitioners who hold religious views? Does it prevent parents from raising their children in faith? Or does it protect families from practitioners who promise results they cannot deliver?

Christian parents have always understood something important: loving our children well means protecting them from harm. That calling does not change based on which legal test courts happen to use. Our responsibility as parents is to seek truth, exercise discernment, and make decisions grounded in both faith and facts.

Laws that protect children from unproven, potentially harmful practices do not threaten our faith. They support our most fundamental calling as parents.

FAQs

What is the Lemon test in simple terms? The Lemon test was a three-part standard that courts used to decide if a law violated the First Amendment's ban on government establishment of religion. A law had to have a non-religious purpose, could not mainly help or hurt religion, and could not create too much government involvement with religious institutions.

Is the Lemon test still used today? The Supreme Court largely abandoned the Lemon test in 2022. Courts now evaluate religious freedom cases by looking at historical practices and understandings rather than applying the three-prong Lemon test.

How does the Lemon test relate to conversion therapy laws? Some groups argue that conversion therapy bans burden religious practice. However, these laws regulate professional conduct by licensed therapists, not religious belief. They do not apply to pastors or religious counselors, and protecting children from documented harm has consistently been recognized as a legitimate government interest.

What replaced the Lemon test? The Supreme Court replaced the Lemon test with an approach that examines historical practices and understandings. This means courts look at whether a government action would have been considered acceptable based on the historical understanding of the First Amendment.

Can Christians still express their faith under the current law? Yes. The shift away from the Lemon test has generally been seen as more protective of religious expression in public spaces. Christian parents, pastors, and counselors can freely practice and express their faith. What courts continue to allow states to do is regulate professional conduct that causes documented harm to children.