The 1st Amendment

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion,... The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
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Comments (2)

A minor correction, there is not a strict separation of church and state in the US (emphasis on the "state"). Based on "Zelman v. Simmons-Harris", 2002, and "Mitchell v. Helms", 2000, states only must comply with the "Neutrality Test". That is, they may fund religious organizations, and even allow religious expression on public property, so long as the same is available to all groups, religious and secular. This is to comply with the 14th Amendment "Equal protection clause", which incorporation was first based upon anyway. In other words, "Congress can make no laws respecting an establishment of religion", but states may, if they treat everyone equally under the law.

09/14/2013 10:30 PM

In response to the previous comment, I was not aware of those court decisions, but the general fact remains - the founders based the Constitution as a governmental document specifically absent of the tenets of religion. If you look at quotes on the subject by founders like Madison or Jefferson you see just how clear their goals in this regard were. Interesting, though, how courts constantly amend and redefine the specific wording and intent of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Thanks for the comment!

10/01/2013 06:43 PM
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