The Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market case of 1960 revolved around a Massachusetts law that prohibited certain businesses from operating on Sundays. The Crown Kosher Supermarket, along with other plaintiffs, challenged this law arguing it violated their First Amendment rights to freedom of religion as they observed Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening and thus Sunday was their busiest day for business. They claimed the law disproportionately affected Jewish-owned businesses by forcing them to close two days a week instead of one like most other businesses. However, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Massachusetts Sunday closing laws in a 5-4 decision stating that these laws did not intend or promote religious discrimination but were rather enacted for secular purposes such as providing a uniform day off work for all citizens regardless of faith.

In the dissenting opinion for Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market, Justice Frankfurter argued that Massachusetts' Sunday closing laws did not violate the First Amendment's prohibition of establishing a religion. He pointed out that these laws were part of a long-standing tradition aimed at providing a uniform day of rest for all citizens and had no religious intent or purpose. Furthermore, he contended that such regulations should be evaluated based on their secular effects rather than any incidental religious benefits they might provide. In his view, if every law with some indirect religious benefit was deemed unconstitutional, it would lead to an impractical level of scrutiny and could potentially invalidate many beneficial social policies.