The free exercise clause was incorporated in the 1940 case of Cantwell v. ![]() Once a fundamental right has been incorporated, it protects persons from unconstitutional laws and actions of their state and local governments and not just the federal government. On a case-by-case basis, the court has decided which rights are incorporated into the 14th Amendment’s due process clause. ![]() ![]() .” Beginning in the 1920s, the Supreme Court began to interpret the due process clause as incorporating the fundamental rights of the Constitution and thus protecting individuals against the actions of state and local governments. Among its provisions was the due process clause: “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. The Church could challenge the Anti-Bigamy Act because it was an act of Congress, the only governmental body named in the First Amendment.īut following the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution. The First Amendment initially only applied to the federal government. After the ban, Congress admitted Utah to the Union in 1896.) (The practice of polygamy in Utah had made many in Congress oppose its becoming a state. In 1890, the Church formally banned the practice of polygamy, though some splinter groups, also claiming Joseph Smith as their founder, continued the practice illegally even into the 21st century. In a unanimous opinion, Chief Justice Morrison Waite wrote, “Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices.” Unless the government can regulate our actions, every citizen would become “a law unto himself.” In other words, the government may limit your actions, but not your beliefs. When in 1879, the court issued its opinion in Reynolds v. According to plan, Reynolds claimed his arrest violated his fundamental right to free exercise of religion. Young had his secretary, George Reynolds, arrested for bigamy. When the federal government began to more actively enforce the law in the 1870s, Young and other Church elders decided to challenge the law. .” Lincoln, however, promised not to enforce the law if Young agreed not to join the Confederacy in the Civil War. The law made polygamy a federal crime punishable by prison and a fine: “That every person having a husband or wife living, who shall marry any other person, whether married or single, in a Territory of the United States. territories, Congress passed the Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862, which President Lincoln signed into law. There, they openly practiced polygamy.ĭetermined to clamp down on their polygamy in U.S. Members of the Church ultimately settled in the territory of Utah. Smith was killed by an angry mob in 1844 and was succeded by Brigham Young. The Church faced resistance and even persecution when they settled in many traditionally Christian communities. Joseph Smith based his belief in polygamy on revelations from God, supported by biblical examples of the practice, though the practice was not widespread among his followers. Among the Church’s more controversial practices was polygamy, or men having multiple wives. Throughout the 19th century, the Church faith spread as the charismatic Smith gathered followers. In the 1820s, a man named Joseph Smith had spiritual visions, and from his visions came the new religion of the Church of Latter-day Saints, whose adherents are sometimes refered to as Mormons. ![]() It was many years before the Supreme Court heard its first case involving the free exercise clause. The free exercise clause serves another purpose: It prevents the government from interfering with people’s religious beliefs and forms of worship. The establishment clause protects against the federal government’s funding or sponsoring particular religious views. Several states in the early American republic also had established churches. Most British colonies in America before 1776 had “established churches,” churches that received direct financial support from taxpayer money. The phrases establishment of religion and free exercise of religion mean different things. .” Note that initially the First Amendment only limited the actions of Congress, our national legislature, but not the governments of any of the states. Constitution begins with what are known as the religion clauses: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Main Article The Free Exercise of Religion in America When, if ever, may the government limit freedom of religion? The Supreme Court and Congress have grappled with this question.Ī lithograph, done seven years after the killing, depicts the 1844 murder of Joseph Smith, leader of the Church of Latter-day Saints.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |