In Roemer et al. v. Board of Public Works of Maryland et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a case involving state aid to religiously affiliated colleges and universities in Maryland. The plaintiffs, taxpayers in Maryland, challenged the constitutionality of two statutes that provided financial assistance to private higher education institutions, including those with religious affiliations. They argued these laws violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment which prohibits government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion". However, the court upheld both statutes by a 6-3 vote stating they did not violate this clause as their primary effect was secular - supporting higher education rather than promoting religion - and they did not excessively entangle church and state since there were adequate restrictions preventing use for sectarian purposes.

In the dissenting opinion for Roemer et al. v. Board of Public Works of Maryland et al., Justice William Rehnquist disagreed with the majority's decision that state aid to religiously affiliated colleges and universities violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. He argued that such assistance did not promote a particular religion, but rather supported higher education in general, which is a secular purpose. The justice also contended that there was no evidence showing these institutions used public funds for religious indoctrination or activities, hence it didn't lead to excessive government entanglement with religion as claimed by others. Moreover, he pointed out inconsistencies in previous court rulings regarding this issue and called for clearer guidelines on what constitutes violation of church-state separation under different circumstances.