Jones v. City of Opelika, 316 U.S. 584 (1942), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a statute prohibiting the sale of books without a license was constitutional because it covered not a religious ritual but only individuals who engaged in a commercial activity.

When people choose to use the vending of their religious books and tracts as a source of funds, the financial aspects of their transactions need not be wholly disregarded.

To subject any religious or didactic group to a reasonable fee for their money-making activities does not require a finding that the licensed acts are purely commercial.

Justices Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, and Murphy also penned a separate opinion, denoted as a dissent, in which they argued that they now believed the Supreme Court's decision in Minersville School District v. Gobitis was now wrongly decided.

In the one paragraph per curiam decision Jones v. City of Opelika (II), 319 U.S. 103 (1943),[2] the Court vacated Jones v. City of Opelika (1942) on the basis of the principles articulated in Murdock v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; a state may not prohibit distribution of religious handbills where handbills seek to raise funds in a lawful fashion.