Rosenberger v. University of Virginia

Rosenberger was the fourth in a series of Supreme Court cases since 1981 in the post-Warren Court era that ruled public institutions could offer support to religious organizations or activities when the benefits were provided neutrally to all groups, religious and secular. A state law or policy providing funding support to individuals or organizations without regard to religion was no longer considered in violation of the Establishment Clause. However, O'Connor's concurring opinion in Rosenberger made it very clear that precedents in Establishment Clause cases have narrow implications. Each case, O'Connor wrote, must be examined in regard to its specific nature to determine their relation to constitutional protections.

Critics decried use of public money to support a Christian magazine. They noted the Court had ruled that the university founded by Thomas Jefferson, chief architect of the Establishment Clause, must spend public money to support religious comment. On the other hand, the decision was viewed as a victory by the Religious Right. As fallout from the decision, government institutions seeking to avoid the subsidy of religious activity were left with the option of not supporting any type of public forum. The series of decisions supporting use of public funds for religious activities further fueled the efforts by some to use public tax monies to support private religious schools through tuition vouchers given directly to families.