Reynolds v. United States
E5191
Reynolds v. United States is an 1879 U.S. Supreme Court case that established the distinction between protected religious belief and regulable religiously motivated conduct, holding that the Free Exercise Clause does not excuse individuals from compliance with otherwise valid criminal laws such as those banning polygamy.
Aliases (2)
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
First Amendment case
→
U.S. Supreme Court case → free exercise of religion case → legal case → |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
→
criminal law → religion clauses of the First Amendment → |
| category |
1879 in United States case law
→
U.S. Supreme Court cases on freedom of religion → United States polygamy case law → |
| chiefJusticeAtDecision |
Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite
→
surface form: "Morrison R. Waite"
|
| citation | 98 U.S. 145 → |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
→
Free Exercise Clause → |
| country |
United States of America
→
surface form: "United States"
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States → |
| decisionDate | 1879-01-06 → |
| decisionType | unanimous decision → |
| factPattern |
Reynolds v. United States
→
surface form: "George Reynolds was prosecuted for bigamy under federal law in the Utah Territory"
|
| fullCaseName |
Reynolds v. United States
→
surface form: "George Reynolds v. United States"
|
| holding |
Laws banning polygamy do not violate the Free Exercise Clause
→
Religious duty is not a defense to a criminal indictment → The Free Exercise Clause does not excuse individuals from compliance with otherwise valid criminal laws → The Free Exercise Clause protects religious belief but not all religiously motivated conduct → |
| impact |
established the belief–action distinction in Free Exercise analysis
→
upheld federal power to criminalize polygamy in U.S. territories → |
| jurisdiction |
United States government
→
surface form: "United States federal government"
|
| legalIssue |
constitutionality of criminal bans on polygamy
→
scope of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment → |
| opinionAuthor | Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite → |
| originatingJurisdiction |
Utah
→
surface form: "Territory of Utah"
|
| page | 145 → |
| partyAffiliationOfDefendant | member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints → |
| petitioner | George Reynolds → |
| precedentFor |
distinction between religious belief and religiously motivated conduct
→
later Free Exercise Clause jurisprudence → |
| reasoning |
Allowing religious belief to excuse criminal acts would make religious doctrine superior to the law of the land
→
Government may regulate actions that are in violation of social duties or subversive of good order → |
| respondent |
United States of America
→
surface form: "United States"
|
| result | conviction of George Reynolds for bigamy affirmed → |
| statuteInvolved | Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act → |
| subjectMatter |
bigamy
→
polygamy → religious liberty → |
| volume | 98 U.S. → |
| yearDecided | 1879 → |
Referenced by (8)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form: "George Reynolds was prosecuted for bigamy under federal law in the Utah Territory"
this entity surface form: "George Reynolds v. United States"