Berkley Center

In Texas Monthly v. Bullock, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute that exempted periodicals and books promulgating religious teachings from sales and use taxes. Texas Monthly, a publisher of magazines that were ineligible for the tax exemption, sued the state contending that the statute violated the Establishment Clause because it applied exclusively to religious periodicals. The Court agreed with Texas Monthly, and held that, unless necessary to remove a state-imposed deterrent to the free exercise of religion, a direct government subsidy to religious organizations amounted to impermissible state sponsorship of religion, particularly where the subsidy applies only to writings that promulgate religion, as the Texas statute did. Further, the Court concluded, the statute called for increased entanglement between government and religion because, in order to determine whether a publication qualified for the exemption, state taxing authorities first had to ascertain whether the content of the publication actually promulgated the beliefs of a particular religious faith. The Court held that this type of government inquiry into the substance of religious publications violated the Establishment Clause.