Free Exercise Clause

E1214

constitutional clause legal doctrine

The Free Exercise Clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution that protects individuals’ rights to practice their religion without undue government interference.

Aliases (6)

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	constitutional clause → legal doctrine →
adoptedOn	1791 →
allows	neutral laws of general applicability to burden religion in some circumstances →
appliesTo	corporations in some contexts → federal government of the United States → individuals → religious organizations → state governments of the United States →
basisForDoctrine	ministerial exception →
category	First Amendment rights → civil liberties → freedom of religion →
contrastedWith	Establishment Clause →
draftedBy	First United States Congress →
enforcedBy	Supreme Court of the United States →
extendedToStatesBy	Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution →
foundInDocument	Bill of Rights → United States Constitution →
historicalContext	response to concerns about religious persecution →
incorporatedThrough	Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment →
influencedBy	James Madison → Virginia Declaration of Rights →
interpretedInCase	Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. → Cantwell v. Connecticut → Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah → Employment Division v. Smith → Fulton v. City of Philadelphia → Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission → Reynolds v. United States → Sherbert v. Verner → Wisconsin v. Yoder →
languageAppliesTo	Congress →
legalStandardHistoricallyAssociatedWith	compelling interest test → strict scrutiny →
limits	government ability to burden religious exercise →
locatedInJurisdiction	United States →
partOf	First Amendment to the United States Constitution →
prohibits	government discrimination based on religion → government interference with religious exercise → laws targeting specific religions →
protects	free exercise of religion → religious belief → religious practice →
protectsAgainst	undue government interference with religious practice →
relatedLegislation	Religious Freedom Restoration Act → Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act →
relatedTo	religious liberty in the United States →
text	"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" →

Referenced by (25)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Establishment Clause → No Religious Test Clause → Petition Clause → Religious Freedom Restoration Act →	relatedTo
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission → Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division → Wisconsin v. Yoder →	constitutionalProvision
Adele Sherbert ("Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment") → Cantwell v. Connecticut →	constitutionalProvisionInvolved
Cantwell v. Connecticut ("The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.") → Wisconsin v. Yoder ("The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the State of Wisconsin from compelling Amish parents to send their children to formal high school after the eighth grade.") →	holding
Sherbert test ("Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment") →	appliesTo
Alfred Leo Smith ("free exercise clause") →	associatedWithConcept
Verner, Administrator, Employment Security Commission of South Carolina ("Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment") →	associatedWithLegalPrinciple
Sherbert v. Verner →	constitutionalClause
Reynolds v. United States →	constitutionalProvisionInterpreted
United States Constitution →	contains
First Amendment to the United States Constitution →	containsClause
Employment Division v. Smith →	hasConstitutionalProvision
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia ("Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment") →	hasLegalIssue
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom ("Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution") →	influenced
Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah ("Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment") →	legalIssue
George Reynolds ("First Amendment free exercise of religion") →	legalPrincipleAtIssue
Assembly Clause →	oftenInterpretedTogetherWith
Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security →	relatedDoctrine