Although there had been many cases involving the establishment clause of the First Amendment prior to 1947, the case of Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township that year has endured as one of the most significant cases on the establishment of religion in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court Everson was a case in which the Court held that the New Jersey statute providing state support for bus transportation to parochial schools was constitutional. Arch Everson contended that the state had no business reimbursing parents whose children were bused to schools owned and operated by the Catholic Church. But the court ruled, by a five-to-four vote, against Everson, stating that money is given to parents of students who are sent to acceptable schools; no money is given to the schools themselves. In 1948 another major case involving church/state relations...