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Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution

This document tells you the following:

• What is the freedom of religion?
• What does the free exercise of religious beliefs mean?
• What does it mean to say that there is no establishment of a state religion?

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Another First Amendment freedom you have probably heard about is freedom of religion. It requires the federal government to be absolutely neutral in matters of religion. First, no law can limit an individual’s right to worship according to his or her particular religious belief. Second, no law can establish or advance any religion.

In the Georgia Constitution, there are several paragraphs regarding freedom of religion:

Freedom of conscience. Each person has the natural and inalienable right to worship God, each according to the dictates of that person’s own conscience; and no human authority should, in any case, control or interfere with such right of conscience. [Article 1, section 1, paragraph 3]

Religious opinions; freedom of religion. No inhabitant of this state shall be molested in person or property or be prohibited from holding any public office or trust on account of religious opinions; but the right of freedom of religion shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. [Article 1, section 1, paragraph 4]

Separation of church and state. No money shall ever be taken from the public treas-ury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, cult, or religious denomination of any sectarian institution. [Article 1, section 2, paragraph 7]

Free Exercise of Religious Beliefs

In the free exercise of religion, there are two elements. One is the freedom to believe. The other is the freedom to act in accordance with one’s religious beliefs. The freedom to believe is absolute. That is, the government cannot take any action to force an individual to believe or not to believe in a par-ticular religious principle. In contrast, the freedom to act in accordance with one’s religious beliefs is not absolute. It may be regulated by the government to a limited extent. However, a government cannot enact a law that discriminates against a particular religion.

SITUATION 19 In Massachusetts, a special committee has to approve the educational program that a private school provides to ensure that it meets the state’s compulsory attendance laws. The New Life Baptist Church objects to this requirement. Its members believe it is a sin to submit their educational program to a nonreligious body for approval. They request that they not be required to submit to the regulation, saying it discriminates against their religion.

Does the Massachusetts law discriminate against this religion?
The state’s Court of Appeals considered the rights of parents and students to express their religious beliefs. It weighed them against the state’s interest in children receiving an adequate education. The court held that the state’s interest was more important.
Governments may not make individuals act against their religious beliefs. However, what about the following situation?

SITUATION 20 During World War II, several children and parents in West Virginia refused to obey a law requiring them to salute the flag in schools. They said the action was against their religion. Their beliefs forbade them to bow down to or serve “graven images.”

In a landmark decision for free expression, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the rights of the parents and children to exercise their religious beliefs. West Virginia v. Barnette, 63 S.Ct. 1178 (1943).
In subsequent decisions, the court has held that a government may not require a public employee to swear to a belief in God. Nor can a government refuse unemployment compensation to a man fired for refusing to work on Sunday because of his religious beliefs.

Consider the events in situation 21. Is the limitation of Rhonda’s rights justifiable?

SITUATION 21 Rhonda is arrested for drunk driving. The government wants to take a blood sample. She refuses. She says her religious beliefs forbid any intrusion into the body. The government takes away her driver’s license.

A court would probably restore Rhonda’s license to her. The government’s action could only be justified if an alternative method of obtaining evidence had been offered and refused. For example, she could have been allowed to breathe into an intoximeter.
More difficult cases arise when an individual refuses medical treatment because of a religious belief. Generally, when the situation is life threatening, courts have ruled in favor of the well-being of children over the religious beliefs of the parents.

The classic example of religious activity prohibited by the government is polygamy. Polygamy occurs when a person has more than one spouse at one time. The Mormon Church once held the belief that men should have several wives (the church has since prohibited polygamy). Polygamy is now a crime in all states. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that polygamy is a punishable offense.

No Establishment of State Religion

The other aspect of freedom of religion is that the government may not take any action that establishes or promotes any religion. This “establishment clause” is the fundamental principle of separation of church and state.

Many settlers of our country felt very strongly about this principle. They came from countries where there was a state religion. Many were persecuted in their native countries for practicing other religions.

Today, government actions are continually being challenged on the grounds that they violate this separation. Government assistance to church schools in the form of busing or tuition credits has been objected to on these grounds, as has prayer in schools or in other public places.

Of course, some government and church interaction must occur. Churches need government services like fire and police protection.

However, in keeping with the principle of separation of church and state, the courts have said that any law or government activity must meet three requirements:

1. It must have a nonreligious purpose;

2. Its main effect must not be to repress or advance religion; and

3. It must not result in too much entangling (or involvement) of government and religion.

SITUATION 22 A state wanted to set up a special school district to serve the disabled students of a particular religious sect. Years earlier, the state had provided special services to disabled students in their private, single-sex religious schools. Then in 1985 the Supreme Court decided that these services were unconstitutional.

In its 1994 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the establishment of a specific school district to serve the disabled students of one particular religious sect.  Board of Education v. Grumet, 114 S.Ct. 2481 (1994).