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That ruling, which is expected by July and is being watched closely, could affect congressional measures dealing with religious liberty issues.

For Jewish activists and church-state watchdogs, the many issues now before Congress are familiar.

"What is different now is atmospherics and packaging," said Michael Lieberman, Washington counsel for the Anti-Defamation League.

Many legislative initiatives with church-state and religious liberty implications have emerged in new forms.

A tough battle lies ahead for proponents of the Religious Freedom Amendment to the Constitution, which would allow prayer in public schools and other forms of religious expression on public property.

Opponents, including most Jewish groups across the political and religious gamut, have vowed to make defeating the initiative a top priority.

They say the First Amendment already protects religious expression, that the proposed language would let the government fund religious institutions and that the initiative would trample the rights of religious minorities.

"Charitable choice," a requirement that states contract with religious agencies to provide services for the needy, is also problematic. Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), wants to apply the principle to a number of public health and social service bills introduced this term.

While supporters of charitable choice say religious providers can do a better job than the government in running social service programs, critics contend that the practice could lead to religious discrimination and excessive church-state enmeshment.

Jewish groups fear that the provision allows taxpayer money to reach religious groups that run sectarian programs, and that the arrangement could permit churches to force someone to worship in order to receive benefits.

"If you're of the wrong religion in a particular community, there isn't going to be anyone to serve you," said Marc Stern, co-director of the legal department of the American Jewish Congress.

Church-state watchdogs are seeking to strip the provision from pending legislation, or alter the wording so that states may only contract with religious organizations that are not pervasively sectarian.

"We believe there must be appropriate safeguards in place when these kinds of contractual relations take place," said Richard Foltin, legislative director and counsel of the American Jewish Committee.

But observers say defeating or toning down the Ashcroft language remains daunting, given the variety of legislative vehicles carrying it and the fact that one such law, embedded in last year's welfare bill, is already on the books.

Opponents face an uphill battle because, as Stern put it, the argument against funding church-based social-service programs is harder to win because church-state concerns "end up being seen as an obstacle to an otherwise salutary public policy."

Republican leaders have pledged to make school vouchers a top priority.

Legislation known as the Safe and Affordable Schools Act has emerged as the leading vehicle, though voucher programs have been inserted in several bills.

Sponsored by Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.), the act would provide $50 million in grants to fund a five-year pilot program offering vouchers to low-income parents whose children attend "unsafe" schools. The vouchers would let them choose a parochial school.

School-voucher initiatives have split the Jewish community. Orthodox and Republican Jewish groups say vouchers are the best way to address America's educational problems and improve access to a quality Jewish education.

Most in the organized Jewish community shun the idea of taxpayer money funding religious schools, calling it an affront to the constitutional separation of church and state.

The fact that the Coverdell bill was the first legislation introduced in the new Senate "is indicative of the leadership's intention to take it very seriously," said Nathan Diament, director of the Orthodox Union's Institute for Public Affairs, which advocates voucher initiatives.

Jewish activists are also hoping to win a victory for religious liberty through the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. Boasting solid support, the bill has emerged as key to the Jewish community's legislative agenda.

The legislation aims to end religious discrimination in the workplace by forcing employers to accommodate workers' religious needs, including granting time off for religious observance.

Unlike other legislative proposals advanced under the religious liberty banner, the act "would actually do something for real people," said Stern of AJCongress. "It wouldn't be an ideological statement."