Since their creation, public schools have been a favored battleground between various religious groups and between religious and secular forces for the proper interpretation of the religious clauses of the 1st Amendment. In the middle decades of the 20th Century, given the growing pluralism of American society, the Supreme Court has interpreted the religious clauses as dictating a strict neutrality of the State as far as the presence of religion in the public schools was concerned. However, it has early on shown a more accommodationist attitude regarding the public financing of parochial schools. The article tries to make sense of recent rulings of the Supreme Court which propose a new definition of 'neutrality' and a greater accommodation toward the presence of religion in the public schools and the public financing of parochial schools.
