Cite as: 505 U. S. 577 (1992)
Blackmun, J., concurring
religion." Id., at 612-613 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).3 After Lemon, the Court continued to rely on these basic principles in resolving Establishment Clause disputes.4
Application of these principles to the facts of this case is straightforward. There can be "no doubt" that the "invocation of God's blessings" delivered at Nathan Bishop Middle School "is a religious activity." Engel, 370 U. S., at 424. In the words of Engel, the rabbi's prayer "is a solemn avowal of divine faith and supplication for the blessings of the Almighty. The nature of such a prayer has always been religious." Id., at 424-425. The question then is whether the government has "plac[ed] its official stamp of approval" on the prayer. Id., at 429. As the Court ably demonstrates, when the government "compose[s] official prayers," id., at 425, selects the member of the clergy to deliver the prayer, has the prayer delivered at a public school event that is planned, supervised, and given by school officials, and pres-3 The final prong, excessive entanglement, was a focus of Walz v. Tax Comm'n of New York City, 397 U. S. 664, 674 (1970), but harkens back to the final example in Everson: "Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa." Everson, 330 U. S., at 16. The discussion in Everson reflected the Madisonian concern that secular and religious authorities must not interfere with each other's respective spheres of choice and influence. See generally The Complete Madison 298-312 (S. Padover ed. 1953).
4 Since 1971, the Court has decided 31 Establishment Clause cases. In only one instance, the decision of Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U. S. 783 (1983), has the Court not rested its decision on the basic principles described in Lemon. For example, in the most recent Establishment Clause case, Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens, 496 U. S. 226 (1990), the Court applied the three-part Lemon analysis to the Equal Access Act, which made it unlawful for public secondary schools to deny equal access to any student wishing to hold religious meetings. Id., at 248-253 (plurality opinion); id., at 262 (Marshall, J., concurring in judgment). In no case involving religious activities in public schools has the Court failed to apply vigorously the Lemon factors.
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