The First Amendment

Establishment

Clause

Congress shall make no law respecting an Establishment of religion….

10 bonus points for all that participate in the recital of the Lords Prayer.

Is this constitutional?

Why or why not?

What does the EstablishmentClause mean to you?

How has the Supreme Court interpretedthe Establishment Clause?

Is this a prayer?We thank you for the flower so sweet;We thank you for the food we eat;We thank you for the birds that sing;We thank you for everything.

1. A religion deals with issues of ultimate concern; with what makes life worth living; with basic attitudes toward fundamental problems of human existence. 2. A religion presents a comprehensive set of ideas--usually as "truth," not just theory. 3.  A religion generally has surface signs (such as clergy, observed holidays, and ritual) that can be analogized to well-recognized religions.

Constitutional Question: Does awarding a 15% salary supplementto private school teachers who teach only secular subjects violatethe 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause?

Compelling Government Interest: Private schools were not as proficient in core subjects as public schools.

Answer: The salary supplement does violate the Establishment Clause.

1. Aid must be clearly secular

2. Must neither advance or prohibit religion

4. Must not lead to excessive Entanglement

Constitutional Question: Does A Kentucky Law requiring the posting of the 10 Commandments insideAll public schools violate the Establishment clause of The 1st Amendment?

Compelling GovernmentInterest?

Congressional Prayer Student Prayer Groups

The Pledge of Allegiance

Do we want a wall between church and state?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,Or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,….

Does a federal law prohibiting polygamous (celestial) marriage violateThe 1st Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause?

“Polygamy has always been odious among the northern and western nations of Europe, and, until the establishment of the Mormon Church, was almost exclusively a feature of the life of Asiatic and of African people. At common law, the second marriage was always void (2 Kent, Com. 79), and from the earliest history of England polygamy has been treated as an offence against society..”

Compelling Government Interest:

Constitutional Question:Does Wisconsin’s Compulsory School Attendance Law violateThe free exercise rights of the Amish?

Compelling Government Interest: The preparation of youth to enter The real world as productive and prepared citizens.

Why don’t the Amish want to send their children to school past the 8th Grade?

Competition

Worldly Influences

Worldly Success

Amish Religion Teaches:Segregation from Worldly Influences:

Community welfare rather than Competition

Wisdom rather than technical Knowledge

Ruling: Requiring Amish kids to attend public secondary schoolsWould:

Supreme Court rejected the compelling government interest of the state.The Supreme Court established the fact that the Amish religion wasdeeply rooted in history and thus a “legitimate” religion with legitimate purposes.

Requiring Amish children to go to secondary school would endangertheir salvation.

.The Compulsory school attendance law did unfairly burden the free exercise rights of the amish, but the law did not unfairly targetthem.