William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

114 Chapter 4Chapter 4 || Civil LibertiesCivil Liberties

The First Amendment has two parts that deal with religion: the establishment

clause, which has been interpreted to mean that Congress cannot sponsor or endorse

any particular religion, and the free exercise clause, which has been interpreted to

mean that Congress cannot interfere with the practice of religion unless there are

important secular reasons for doing so. To simplify only slightly, the former says that

Congress should not help religion and the latter that it should not hurt religion. The

establishment clause is primarily concerned with drawing lines. For example, does a

prayer at a public high school football game or a Nativity scene on government property

constitute state sponsorship of religion? The free exercise clause has more to do with

balancing interests. Recall the earlier examples of balancing public safety concerns

against snake handling in religious services and the use of Amish buggies on highways.

The combination of the establishment and free exercise clauses results in a

general policy of noninterference and government neutrality toward religion. As

Thomas Jefferson put it in 1802, the First Amendment provides a “wall of eternal

separation between church and state.” This language continues to be cited in Court

cases in which religion and politics intersect.^23 Since both areas carry great moral

weight and emotional charge, it’s no wonder that vehement debates continue over the

appropriateness of the saying “In God We Trust” on our currency, the White House

Christmas tree, and whether evolution and “intelligent design” should be taught in

public schools. The boundaries of religious expression remain difficult to draw.

The Establishment Clause and Separation of Church and State

Determining the boundaries between church and state—the central issue of the

establishment clause—is very difficult. As a leading text on civil liberties puts it,

the words of the establishment clause—“Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion”—are commanding and clear, but their meaning is entirely

unclear. What does the clause allow or forbid?^24 We know that the Founders did not

want an official state religion and did not want the government to favor one religion

over another, but beyond that it’s hard to say. Jefferson’s “wall of eternal separation”

comment has been used in Court decisions that prohibit state aid for religious

activities, but lately the Court has been moving toward a more “accommodationist”

perspective that sometimes allows religious activity in public institutions.

Public Prayer The prohibition of prayer in public schools has become the most

controversial establishment clause issue. It exploded onto the political scene in 1962 when

the Court ruled in Engel v. Vitale^25 that the following prayer, written by the New York State

Board of Regents and read every day in the state’s public schools, violated the separation

of church and state: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we

beg Thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.” Banning the prayer

caused a huge public outcry protesting the perceived attack on religion.

Over the next 50 years, Congress repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to amend the

Constitution to allow school prayer. Meanwhile, the Court continued to take a hard line

on school-sponsored prayer. In 1985, the Court struck down the practice of observing

a one-minute moment of silence for “meditation or voluntary prayer” in the Alabama

public schools, showing that it isn’t the words of the prayer that are the problem, but the

idea of prayer itself.^26 More recently, the Court said that benedictions or prayers at public

school graduations and a school policy that allowed an elected student representative

to lead a prayer at a high school football game also violated the establishment clause.

The former established a strong “coercion test” that prohibited prayers that may appear

establishment clause

Part of the First Amendment that

states “Congress shall make no

law respecting an establishment of

religion,” which has been interpreted

to mean that Congress cannot

sponsor or favor any religion.

free exercise clause

Part of the First Amendment that

states that Congress cannot prohibit

or interfere with the practice of

religion unless there are important

secular reasons for doing so.

The number, the industry, and the

morality of the Priesthood, & the

devotion of the people have been

manifestly increased by the total

separation of the Church from the

State.

— James Madison

Can a cross be displayed on federal

land? The Supreme Court has ruled

that religious displays on government

property must be part of larger,

secular displays. This cross on federal

land in the Mojave Desert was covered

up after it became controversial. Now

it looks like a sign.

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