Sample Multiple Choice Questions

Below are three sample multiple choice questions. After each question, I have provided the answer to the question (the letter of the alphabet) and an explanation why it is the correct answer. On the exam, you will only have to list the letter that is the correct answer and you will not have to explain your answer.

1. In Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education (Page 12), one of the reasons the Supreme Court struck down the released time program as a violation of the Establishment Clause was because:

(Choose the best answer of the 6)
A. Religious education classes were only available for some religions rather than all religions.
B. The teachers of the religious education classes were paid by the Board of Education.
C. The teachers of the religious education classes were public school teachers.
D. Students were coerced to participate in the religious education classes.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

Answer: F is the correct answer because A, B, C, and D are all incorrect. Answer A is incorrect since the Court did not mention the fact that only some religions chose to participate in the program as a reason for its decision. This is likely because the Board of Education did not exclude any religion from participation in the program, although only some chose to participate. Answer B is incorrect since the teachers were paid by the Champagne Council on Religious Education. Answer C is incorrect since the teachers were religious school teachers employed by the Council. Answer D is incorrect because parents of public school students chose whether to sign their children up for religious classes. The main reasons why the Supreme Court struck down the released time program were that the religious classes where held in public school classrooms and there was close cooperation between public school officials and the Council on Religious Education in operating the program.   

2. In Epperson v. Arkansas (Page 191), the Supreme Court concluded that:

(Choose the best answer of the 4)
A. Arkansas’ law was not religiously neutral since it prevented the teaching of the theory of evolution because it conflicted with the Biblical account.
B. Arkansas prohibited the teaching of the theory of evolution because it was not an accepted scientific theory.
C. Arkansas could not include the study of religion and the Bible in any aspect of its public school curriculum.
D. Susan Epperson had no standing to challenge the Arkansas law since she had suffered no adverse employment action.

Answer: The correct answer is A. A is correct because the Court based its decision on the fact that government must be neutral in religious matters and Arkansas based its law on a preference for a religious doctrine which it protected by prohibiting the teaching of a scientific theory which conflicted with that religious doctrine. B is incorrect since Arkansas did not argue that evolution was not an accepted scientific theory. C is incorrect because the Court recognized that religion and the Bible could be included in a variety of classes such as literature and history courses. D is incorrect because the Court concluded that Susan Epperson had standing to challenge the Arkansas law because she was faced with the dilemma of either refusing to use the textbook assigned for her high school Biology class or using the assigned textbook and risking committing a crime and losing her job.

3. In Stone v. Graham (Page 193), the posting of the Ten Commandments on public school classroom walls violated the Establishment Clause because:

(Choose the best answer of the 4)
A. The posting of the Ten Commandments violated the Lemon test because it was not justified by a secular purpose.
B. The posting of the Ten Commandments violated the Lemon test because it had the impermissible effect of advancing religion.
C. The posting of the Ten Commandments violated the Lemon test because it fostered an excessive government entanglement with religion.
D. The posting of the Ten Commandments was financed by government funds showing the official support of the government for religion.

Answer: The correct answer is A. A is the correct answer because the Court rejected the State’s asserted secular purpose as a sham and concluded that the posting of the Ten Commandments had no secular purpose. B is incorrect because the Court did not reach the issue of whether the posting of the Ten Commandments had the effect of advancing religion. C is incorrect because the Court did not address the entanglement prong of the Lemon test. D is incorrect because the posting of the Ten Commandments was financed by private contributions and not government funds.