Omar Bennett
The Establishment Clause is a part of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1791. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or favouring one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from promoting non-religion over religion. The clause was based on precedents such as the 12th-century Constitutions of Clarendon and the 1689 Bill of Rights. The Establishment Clause, along with the Free Exercise Clause, guarantees freedom of religion in the United States. While the Establishment Clause has been interpreted to mean a separation of church and state, it does not prohibit the government's involvement with religion to accommodate religious practices.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Establishment | December 1791 |
| Part of | The First Amendment to the United States Constitution |
| Purpose | Preventing the government from establishing an official religion |
| Prohibits | Government actions that favour one religion over another |
| Also Prohibits | Government actions that favour religion over non-religion, or vice versa |
| Does Not Prohibit | Government involvement with religion to accommodate religious observances and practices |
| Based on | The Constitutions of Clarendon, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey |
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What You'll Learn
The Establishment Clause and the Bill of Rights
The Establishment Clause is a limitation placed upon the United States Congress, preventing it from passing legislation establishing an official religion. It is part of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which, together with the Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, forms the constitutional right to freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause acts as a double security, prohibiting both control of the government by religion and political control of religion by the government.
The Establishment Clause was not added to the Constitution until 1791, when it became part of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a group of 10 Amendments to the Constitution. The idea of adding a Bill of Rights was proposed by Madison, who introduced 17 Amendments to the Constitution in 1789. Six states also recommended the addition of a Bill of Rights, and the idea was endorsed by Jefferson and Madison. The Bill of Rights became law in 1791 when ten of Madison's proposed Amendments were ratified by three-quarters of the states.
The Establishment Clause was included in the Bill of Rights to address the concerns of members of minority faiths, who did not want the federal government to establish a state religion for the entire nation. The Clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion and also prohibits government actions that unduly favour one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion.
The Establishment Clause has been interpreted in various ways throughout history. In 1947, the Supreme Court interpreted the Establishment Clause based on the intent of the founding generation. This interpretation, known as Old Originalism, has been criticised because lawmaking is a collective task with multiple intents. A more recent interpretative theory, known as New Originalism, focuses on the September 1789 meaning of the final words of the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause has also been interpreted as requiring the separation of church and state, a metaphor first used by Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that bible reading and the recitation of The Lord's Prayer in public schools violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, requiring the separation of church and state.
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The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause
The Establishment Clause, which is part of the First Amendment's two Religion Clauses, prohibits the government from making any laws "respecting an establishment of religion." This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion but also prohibits actions that favour one religion over another or religion over non-religion, and vice versa. It acts as a safeguard against both religious control of the government and political control of religion by the government. The Establishment Clause provides a legal framework for resolving disagreements about the public role of religion in a pluralistic society.
The Free Exercise Clause, the other Religion Clause, guarantees the free exercise of religion. It protects citizens' right to practice their faith according to their conscience, without interference from the government. This clause ensures that individuals can believe and practice their religion, or choose not to follow any religion at all.
The two clauses are often seen as complementary, with the Establishment Clause ensuring that the government remains neutral in religious matters, thereby enabling the Free Exercise Clause's promise of religious freedom for all. However, some argue that the clauses are at odds with each other, with anti-establishment interests impeding the free exercise of religion.
The interpretation and application of these clauses have evolved over time, with the Supreme Court playing a significant role in shaping their understanding. The Supreme Court has addressed issues related to religious accommodations, government actions implicating religion, and the role of religion in public education and legislation.
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The Establishment Clause and the First Amendment
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, along with the Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, establishes the constitutional right to freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".
The Establishment Clause prohibits the federal government of the United States, as well as the governments of all U.S. states and territories, from establishing or sponsoring a religion. It also prevents the government from unduly preferring one religion over another or religion over non-religion (and vice versa). The Establishment Clause was based on several precedents, including the 12th-century Constitutions of Clarendon, the 1689 Bill of Rights, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The First Amendment is part of a group of 10 Amendments to the US Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. The idea for a Bill of Rights was initially proposed by supporters of the Constitution (Federalists) to secure its ratification in Massachusetts. Later, six more states, as well as Jefferson and Madison, endorsed the idea. In 1789, Madison introduced 17 Amendments to the Constitution, and by 1791, ten of these had been ratified and became the Bill of Rights. The Establishment Clause addressed the concerns of members of minority faiths who did not want the federal government to establish a state religion.
The Establishment Clause has been interpreted in various ways throughout history. For the first 150 years of the country's existence, there was little debate over its meaning. However, as the population became more diverse, challenges arose, and the Supreme Court was called upon to interpret the clause. In 1947, the Supreme Court interpreted the Establishment Clause in Everson v. Board of Education, basing their interpretation on the intent of the founding generation and the efforts of statesmen James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. This interpretation, now known as Old Originalism, has been criticised for not taking into account the collective nature of lawmaking and the multiple intents of lawmakers. New Originalism, on the other hand, focuses on the specific meaning of the final words of the Establishment Clause in September 1789.
The Establishment Clause has been invoked in several Supreme Court cases involving the role of religion in public life. For example, in Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the Court ruled that Bible reading and the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools violated the Establishment Clause. In Cutter v. Wilkinson (2005), the Court upheld the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which provides religious accommodations for prisoners, as consistent with the Establishment Clause.
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The Establishment Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion". This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion but also prohibits government actions that unduly favour one religion over another. The Establishment Clause acts as a double security, prohibiting both control of the government by religion and political control of religion by the government.
The Establishment Clause was included in the First Amendment by James Madison, whose inclusion addressed the concerns of members of minority faiths who did not want the federal government to establish a state religion for the entire nation. The Establishment Clause was based on a number of precedents, including the Constitutions of Clarendon, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was enacted in 1868. Prior to this, the Supreme Court generally held that the substantive protections of the Bill of Rights did not apply to state governments. Subsequently, by the Incorporation doctrine, the Bill of Rights has been broadly applied to limit state and local governments as well. The process of incorporating the two Religion Clauses in the First Amendment was twofold. The first step was the Supreme Court's conclusion in 1940 that the Free Exercise Clause was made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. This raised few difficulties, as the Due Process Clause protects those rights in the Bill of Rights "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty," and the free exercise of religion is a quintessential individual right.
In 1947, the Supreme Court held that the Establishment Clause is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, making it applicable to state laws and local ordinances. Since then, the Court has attempted to discern the precise nature of the separation of church and state. The Establishment Clause is sometimes referred to as the separation of church and state. Although the clause is not explicitly stated in the First Amendment, it is often interpreted to mean that the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.
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The Establishment Clause and the Supreme Court
The Establishment Clause, part of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion". This clause forbids the government from establishing an official religion and prohibits actions that favour one religion over another. It also prevents the government from promoting non-religion over religion. The Establishment Clause was added to the Constitution in 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.
The Supreme Court has played a significant role in interpreting and applying the Establishment Clause through various cases over the years. One of the earliest cases involving the Establishment Clause was Bradfield v. Roberts (1899), where the Court ruled that the federal government's funding of a hospital operated by a Roman Catholic institution was permissible as the funding was for a secular organisation. In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Supreme Court upheld a statute authorising reimbursement for student transportation to schools, whether secular or religious. The Court ruled that neither the state nor the federal government could establish a church or pass laws that aid or prefer one religion over another.
In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that the government may not "excessively entangle" with religion. This ruling introduced the "secular purpose" and "primary effect" tests, which are used to determine whether a law violates the Establishment Clause. The "secular purpose" test requires that a law must have a valid secular purpose, while the "primary effect" test states that the law's primary effect must neither advance nor inhibit religion. The "excessive entanglement" test was added later, which prohibits the government from becoming too involved with religion.
The Supreme Court has also addressed the issue of religious accommodations in prisons, upholding that religious accommodations are permissible as long as they do not favour one religion over another and alleviate exceptional burdens on religious exercise. In Cutter v. Wilkinson (2005), the Court held that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) provided statutory accommodations for religious practice in prisons without violating the Establishment Clause.
Another area of contention is the display of religious monuments on public land. In Van Orden v. Perry (2005) and McCreary County v. ACLU (2005), the Supreme Court considered the removal of existing religious monuments from public land but did not establish a clear standard for deciding such cases. The Court revisited this issue in Salazar v. Buono (2008), examining the constitutionality of a large Christian cross on federal land. While the Court did not explicitly rule on the memorial, it concluded that a federal judge erred in blocking a land transfer that would have placed the memorial on private property.
The Establishment Clause continues to be a subject of debate and interpretation by the Supreme Court, shaping the relationship between religion and the state in the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
The Establishment Clause is a part of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion."
The Establishment Clause was added to the US Constitution in 1791, as part of the Bill of Rights.
The Establishment Clause acts as a double security, prohibiting both control of the government by religion and political control of religion by the government. It was designed to address the concerns of members of minority faiths who did not want the federal government to establish a state religion for the entire nation.
The Establishment Clause, along with the Free Exercise Clause, reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
