Bracken Ostler Business Law Paper #1 Mark Holland

Freedom of Religion

Freedom of religion is an essential part of the Constitution of the United States and is included in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion involves two important components. The first is the prohibition on the “establishment of religion” by government- the separation of Church and State; and the second, ensures that the government allows for the practice of religion (Marroquin). Many important cases throughout history have also helped to further refine the limits of freedom of religion as laid out in the Constitution. This paper will discuss why freedom of religion was chosen as part of the Constitution. It will also provide the current law pertaining to this important part of the First Amendment. In the original Constitution, religion makes only one direct and obvious appearance that seems to point to a desire of religious freedom. That appearance is in Article 6, at the end of the third clause and states: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” (Mount) This is a statement that is simple and straightforward and applies to all offices in the entire United States, both state and federal. The framers of the Constitution thought that they had constructed a complete and comprehensive document. Many people disagreed. One of the big disagreements from the opposition to the framers was the lack of a bill of rights. Many of the framers felt that it was unneeded. Eventually, many supporters of the Constitution, including one of the most prominent, James Madison, agreed to support a bill of rights in the Constitution, if it could be ratified. In the end, the ten amendments were introduced and made part of the Constitution.
Some may ask, why was freedom of religion included in the Bill of Rights? The Framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure that no one sect could ever seize control of a government and start a theocracy (Mount). Many of the framers were able to witness those issues in other countries that did not have freedom of religion. There were significant problems that arose from having no freedom of religion. Other countries (particularly European countries) had issues such as conflict between religious groups, preventing individuals from forming religious bodies, keeping individuals from engaging in religious practices, or forcing them into the religious practices of others (Marroquin).
Many framers also wanted a separation of church and government to prevent problems, and also because they felt that church and government should be separate. Thomas Jefferson was key in establishing freedom of religion in general, but more specifically in helping to establish the separation between church and state. Shortly after he was elected as President of the United States, some Baptists from Connecticut asked that he declare a national day of fasting in order to help the country recover from a bitterly fought presidential campaign (Robinson). He disagreed, feeling that the Federal Government should not recognize a day set aside for religious reasons. In 1802, he stated: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with solemn reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting and establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” (Robinson). “The Wall of Separation” term has become a common expression to describe the concept in the United States that the government and churches should keep out of each other’s way. In those countries that did not have a “wall of separation”, religious minorities would frequently suffer a loss of freedom. Here are some examples of problems that arose in those countries: -Laws interpreted as requiring a divorce if a husband writes a book that is critical of the established state religion. -Capital Punishment for speech critical of the state religion. –Capital punishment for those who change their religious faith, unless it is to the state religion. -Laws originating in a religion that prohibited women from working outside the home. (Robinson) In my opinion, the framers of the United States Constitution wanted to allow people to worship how, where, and what they may, without severe penalties, or any penalties. In essence, they wanted this to be a land or freedom and liberty. The current state of the law of freedom of religion is much the same as it was, but there have been many court cases that have clarified, influenced, and added upon freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights. When the Bill of Rights was published, it had no effect on how a state treated its churches. The Bill of Rights applied only to the rules and laws of the federal government. The states were still free to establish churches, to direct church taxes be paid, and to even require attendance in church, all within the bounds of the state’s own constitution (Mount). Today, the state no longer has those rights. It seems that this topic of freedom of religion is always surrounded by controversy, and that is what has led to so many court cases pertaining to this portion of the First Amendment. I will now mention a couple of court cases that apply to freedom of religion. In 2000, The Pledge of Allegiance was argued by Dr. Michael Newdow to be unconstitutional. The suit that he brought forth alleged that the school policy that the Pledge of Allegiance be recited by students was a violation of his daughter’s religious freedom, because of the words “under God” in the Pledge (Mount). He said he was atheist and opposed the words in the Pledge. After going through a couple of courts, he eventually lost his case, which was heard in front of the Supreme Court. Another case involved the words on the US currency that says “In God We Trust”. The District Court rules that “In God We Trust” on US currency is permissible. There have also been multiple cases brought forth regarding prayer in school and school functions.

References 1. Robinson, B.A. "The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 3 July 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/amend_1.htm>. 2. Mount, Steve. "Constitutional Topic: The Constitution and Religion." The U.S. Constitution Online. 29 June 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_duep.html>. 3. Marroquin, Emily. "Freedom of Religion." Learning to Give. Learning to Give, Philanthropy Education Resources That Teach Giving and Civic Engagement. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper26.html>.