Our Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”. Most legal disputes in this area are found in favor of the religious institution because the courts consider themselves unqualified to judge religious matters. Back in the first century, the Roman proconsul Gallio took a similar position:
Act 18:14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;
Act 18:15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.”
In recent years the American government has been increasingly more apt to consider such matters and in some cases there have been more cases which do harm to religious institutions