Isabella Carter
The First Amendment to the US Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, includes two provisions concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion, while the Free Exercise Clause guarantees citizens the right to practice their religion without government interference. These clauses, ratified in 1791, protect religious freedom and ensure the separation of church and state in the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Establishment Clause | Prohibits the government from establishing a religion |
| Free Exercise Clause | Protects citizens' right to practice their religion as they please, so long as the practice does not run afoul of "public morals" or a "compelling" governmental interest |
| Freedom of Speech | Protects citizens' right to free speech |
| Freedom of the Press | Protects citizens' right to freedom of the press |
| Right to Peaceably Assemble | Protects citizens' right to peaceably assemble |
| Right to Petition the Government | Protects citizens' right to petition the government for a redress of grievances |
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What You'll Learn
The Establishment Clause
The Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter in conflicts between the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
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The Free Exercise Clause
The precise boundaries of what constitutes an "establishment of religion" have been a matter of legal debate. Historically, it referred to prohibiting state-sponsored churches, such as the Church of England. Today, the US Supreme Court uses a three-part test, known as the "Lemon test", to determine whether government assistance to religion is permissible. According to this test, government assistance to religion is allowed if:
- The primary purpose of the assistance is secular;
- The assistance neither promotes nor inhibits religion;
- There is no excessive entanglement between church and state.
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The Lemon Test
The three prongs of the Lemon Test are as follows:
- The law or government action must have a secular purpose.
- The primary effect of the law or government action must not infringe on or promote religion.
- The law or government action should not excessively entangle the government with religion.
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Engel v. Vitale
Freedom of religion in the United States is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The First Amendment was ratified as part of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791, and it defends religious liberty. The First Amendment explicitly states that:
- Congress will not make any law establishing a state religion.
- Congress will not make any law prohibiting people from practising a religion.
- No law can abridge people's right to freedom of speech.
The First Amendment guarantees five basic freedoms, including freedom of religion. It allows people to practice any religion without government interference or restriction. Religious freedom also prevents the religious majority from imposing its will on religious minorities.
In November 1951, the Board of Regents of New York proposed that public schools start the day with a non-denominational prayer, known as The Regents' Prayer. The prayer was written by the New York State Board of Regents and consisted of twenty-two words: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country. Amen." The proposal was not mandatory, but school boards were authorised to adopt it if they chose to do so. The Herricks Union Free School District adopted the proposal in July 1958.
Steven I. Engel, a Jewish man, became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the school board president, William J. Vitale Jr. Five parents of public school students attending Herricks High School in New Hyde Park sued, challenging the constitutionality of the Regents' Prayer. Two of the plaintiffs were Jewish, one was an atheist, one was a Unitarian church member, and one was a member of the New York Society for Cultural Ethics. The plaintiffs argued that opening the school day with such a prayer violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The lawsuit argued that the law, which allowed students to be absent from the prayer if they found it objectionable, still violated the First Amendment.
The ruling in Engel v. Vitale was subject to intense debate and was criticised by some members of Congress, particularly those in the South and Midwest who had already expressed anger towards the Warren Court for its school desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The decision was also disapproved of by Catholic clergy, with Cardinal Spellman commenting that it "strikes at the very heart of the Godly tradition in which America's children have for so long been raised." However, most American Jewish groups celebrated the decision, and the American Jewish Congress called it "a great milestone."
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The First Amendment
> "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion. The precise definition of "establishment" is unclear, but it has historically been interpreted to mean prohibiting state-sponsored churches, such as the Church of England. Today, the level of government assistance that can be provided to religion is often governed by the three-part test set forth by the US Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971). According to the "Lemon test", government assistance to religion is permitted only if:
- The primary purpose of the assistance is secular;
- The assistance neither promotes nor inhibits religion; and
- There is no excessive entanglement between church and state.
The Free Exercise Clause protects citizens' right to practice their religion without interference from the government, as long as their practices do not conflict with "public morals" or a "compelling" governmental interest.
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Frequently asked questions
Freedom of religion is mentioned in the First Amendment.
The First Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first ten amendments to the US Constitution.
The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". This means that the government cannot establish an official religion and that citizens have the right to practice their religion freely.
The two key clauses concerning religion in the First Amendment are the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from "establishing" a religion. This means that the government cannot favor or promote any particular religion over another. The precise definition of "establishment" has been further defined by the US Supreme Court in legal cases such as Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971).
