Freedom Of Religion
On a piece of paper, silently list what
you know about Freedom of Religion
in the United States
2 minutes
http://www.onlinestopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/
With your tablemates, take turns
listing one of the things you wrote
down (no need to repeat what
someone else had)
Student with birthday closest to today
starts
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.
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury
Baptists
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between
man and his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or
his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions
only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that
act of the whole American people which declared that their
"legislature" should "make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a
wall of separation between church and State. Adhering
to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the
rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of
those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights,
convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
Establishment Clause
“Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion;”.
• “Accommodationist view”: Prohibits Congress from
preferring one religion over another, but does not
prohibit the government's entry into religious
domain and allows a certain degree of church/state
blending.
• “Separationist view:” Government should allow
virtually no blending of church and state. There
should be a “wall of separation” between the two.
Rally Coach:
• Partner 1, without looking at notes, explains
“accomodationist” viewpoint to partner 2.
Partner 2 looks at notes, and helps or ‘coaches’
partner 1 with their definition as needed.
• Partner 2, without looking at notes, explains
“separationist” viewpoint to partner 1. Partner 1
looks at notes, and helps or ‘coaches’ partner 2
with their definition as needed.
Lemon v. Kurtzman: established a 3-part test to determine if a
statute or practice violates the establishment clause: If any of
the following are present, the statute or practice is
unconstitutional.
1. Non-secular (religious) purpose.
2. Advances or inhibits religion.
3. Excessive entanglement with religion.
Application
• Use the Lemon test to determine whether the
following case violates the establishment
clause:
Van Orden v. Perry
A granite monument is set on the grounds of the state Capitol in
Austin, Texas, that displays the Ten Commandments along with other
symbols including an American eagle holding an American flag, and a
Star of David. It was donated in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
which gave similar monuments to government entities nationwide. It is
one of 16 monuments that also dot the Capitol grounds. Thomas Van
Orden, a homeless man and a lawyer, challenged the monument as an
unconstitutional establishment of religion that conveyed government
endorsement of Judeo-Christian beliefs. The state claimed the
monument, placed among the other memorials, has a secular purpose
of recognizing the state’s many historical influences and events. A
district judge ruled for the state, as did the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. “A reasonable viewer would not see this display either as a
State endorsement of the Commandment's religious message or as
excluding those who would not subscribe to its religious statements,”
the appeals court ruled in November 2003.
SCOTUS & the EC
Financial Aid
Prayer in Schools
State $ can’t be used
for private, religious
schools unless going to
others as well
No Prayer (Engel V.
Vitale 1962)
Confusing?? Vouchers
ok?
No moment of silence
(Wallace v. Jaffree
1985)
No student led prayer
at school events (Santa
Fe Independent School
Dist. v. Doe 2000)
Religious Displays on
Govt Property
Nativity Scenes
10 Commandments
Neutrality
• Government should treat religious groups the
same
• In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the court clearly
defined neutrality as evenhandedness in terms
of who may receive aid.
• This is now what the court seems to use most
often.
GREECE v. GALLOWAY
Facts of the Case
• The town of Greece, New York, is governed by a
five-member town board that conducts official
business at monthly public meetings. Starting in
1999, the town meetings began with a prayer
given by an invited member of the local clergy.
The town did not adopt any policy regarding who
may lead the prayer or its content, but in
practice, Christian clergy members delivered the
vast majority of the prayers at the town’s
invitation. In 2007, Susan Galloway and Linda
Stephens complained about the town’s prayer
practices, after which there was some increase in
the denominations represented.
In February 2008, Galloway and Stephens sued
the town and John Auberger, in his official
capacity as Town Supervisor, and argued that the
town’s practices violated the Establishment
Clause of the First Amendment by preferring
Christianity over other faiths. The district court
found in favor of the town and held that the
plaintiffs failed to present credible evidence that
there was intentional seclusion of non-Christian
faiths. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit reversed and held that the practices
violated the Establishment Clause by showing a
clear preference for Christian prayers.
Question
• Does the invocation of prayer at a legislative
session violate the Establishment Clause of
the First Amendment even in the absence of
discrimination in the selection of prayer-givers
and content?
Quick write: using the neutrality test argue what
should the court rule.
Free Exercise Clause
• Distinction between belief and practice: the
Belief is always allowed, but practice is not
always allowed. Freedom of worship is a
relative, not absolute, right.
• Ex: Santeria
• Workplace:
• Pair share with partner across table from you:
What is the Free Exercise clause?
Exit Slip
• Without using your notes, please briefly
describe both the free exercise and the
establishment clause of the first amendment.