William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

It’s tough.

The establishment

clause often asks courts

to draw lines between

what type of religious

conduct is allowed

and what would be

considered an “excessive

entanglement” between

church and state.

How it works: in theory

The First Amendment

Free Exercise

The government cannot

prevent people from

practicing their religion.

While the different branches

of the First Amendment on the

opposite page are an accurate

representation of the various

aspects of our religious and

expressive freedoms, in practice,

the implementation of these civil

liberties is more complicated.

The First Amendment states:

“^ 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.”

How it works: in practice

Balancing Interests and Drawing Lines:

Government and Religion

Since 1962 the Supreme

Court has banned school

prayer as a violation

of the establishment

clause.

But does the separation

of church and state also

apply to town board

members who start

their meetings with

a prayer? In 2014, the

Court decided by a 5–4

vote that it did not.

Banned. What about...?

Establishment Clause:

Free Exercise:

When Masterpiece

Cakeshop refused to

make a wedding cake

for a same-sex couple,

The baker didn’t have

to bake the cake... for

now (postponing a

decision on the broader

question).

When they

refused...

They said... Here’s why.

In cases like these,

courts must balance

religious freedom

against other state

interests, such as

freedom from

discrimination.

In some

cases,

the free exercise and

establishment clauses

are in tension with one

another. For example,

while the establishment

clause prohibits school-

sponsored prayer,

the free exercise clause

guarantees that any

student can pray at any

time in school on their

own, as long as they are

not bothering others.

Freedom to Petition

the Government

Freedom

of Speech

Freedom of the Press

Freedom

of Religion

Establishment

The government cannot establish

an official state religion or favor

one religion over others.

Freedom of Assembly

Political speech

and symbolic speech

Less-protected

forms of speech

@user

Freedom

of Expression

1. Balancing interests can be
   tricky. Consider these two
   scenarios in which competing
   interests are in play: Company
   policy restricts employees from
   wearing political T-shirts or
   buttons at work. A pharmacist
   denies birth control pills to a
   customer for religious reasons.
   Which (if either) do you think
   should be allowed? Why did you
   select the one(s) you did?


2. Drawing lines for a given civil
   liberty can also be difficult.
   What if a high school football
   coach knelt in a private prayer on
   the field after a game?
   Should that be allowed?
   Or, consider a different scenario:
   Should Congress be able to
   start its sessions with a prayer?
   Reference the First Amendment
   and its interpretations in
   your answer.

Critical Thinking

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