Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Maryland
United States Supreme Court
426 U.S. 736 (1976)
Maryland's Board of Public Works (defendant) ran a grant program funding religiously affiliated colleges and universities, restricted only from being used for sectarian purposes. Roemer (plaintiff) challenged the program's constitutionality; the district court upheld it after finding the grant-eligible colleges were not pervasively sectarian, based on their academic autonomy, non-mandatory religious practices, secondary emphasis on religious education, and religion-neutral hiring and admissions. Roemer sought Supreme Court review.
Whether state funding of private religiously affiliated colleges violates the First Amendment when the funding program does not result in excessive entanglement of government in religion and its primary effect is not to advance religion.