1st Amendment Religion

The free exercise clause is best defined as which of the following?

• A provision of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from interfering with someone’s ability to practice their religion

• A provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits governments from depriving a person’s life, liberty, or property without due process of law

• A provision of the First Amendment that prohibits the federal government from making an official American religion

• A provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits governments from denying any person within their jurisdiction equal protection under the law

In 2006, the Supreme Court heard a case about a state banning a substance used during religious ceremonies. The state banned the substance because it contained a drug prohibited by the Controlled Substances Act. But the religious organization, O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao de Vegetal (UDV) said the government was interfering with religious practices by banning the use of the substance. The Supreme Court agreed and ruled that the government did not prove a compelling interest in regulating the UDV’s use of drugs for religious ceremonies.

Which of the following constitutional clauses does this case have in common with Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)?

• The due process clause

• The establishment clause

• The equal protection clause

• The free exercise clause

Which of the following statements best explains how the ruling in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) changed the balance of power between governments and protection for individual liberties?

• It enhanced the power of the federal government to place limitations on speech which creates a “clear and present danger”

• It limited the power of state governments by declaring a state law requiring Amish children to attend school until they were 16 as a violation of the First Amendment

• It limited the power of the federal government by striking down a school policy that required the reading of a prayer at the start of the school day

• It enhanced the power of state governments by allowing schools to ban symbolic speech like black armbands to protest a war

In 1961, students who attended public schools in Pennsylvania were required to read at least ten verses from the Bible. After students finished reading the readings, school officials required that all students recite the Lord’s Prayer. In 1963, the Supreme Court heard the case and ruled that the readings and recitations violated a provision of the First Amendment.

Which of the following constitutional clauses does this case have in common with Engel v. Vitale (1962)?

• The due process clause

• The equal protection clause

• The establishment clause

• The free exercise clause

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."

Thomas Jefferson, letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, 1802

Supporters of Jefferson’s view that the legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion” could point to which of the following cases?

• Engel v. Vitale

• Baker v. Carr

• United States v. Lopez

• Wisconsin v. Yoder

Based on previous rulings, the Supreme Court is likely to view which of the following as a free exercise clause case?

• A public school prevents Muslim students from wearing headscarves

• A state law prohibits teaching evolution

• A state reimburses religious schools for textbooks and teacher salaries

• A public school holds mandatory prayers before sporting events

Which of the following statements best explains how the Court’s ruling in Engel v. Vitale (1962) changed the balance between governmental power and individual liberty?

• It limited the power of the federal government to limit the press from releasing classified information

• It enhanced the power of state governments by declaring a state law constitutional that required Amish children to attend school until they were 16

• It limited the power of state governments by striking down a school policy that required the reading of a prayer at the start of the school day

• It enhanced the power of the federal government to suppress the release of classified information by the press

Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the Engel v. Vitale (1962) decision?

• It incorporated the right to freedom of speech, protected under the First Amendment, to state and local governments

• It increased states’ power to place limitations on freedom of speech when that speech creates a “clear and present danger”

• It upheld the separation of church and state and clarified the limitations of state governments under the establishment clause

• It emphasized the right of parents to control the religious upbringing of their children without state infringement

The establishment clause is best defined as which of the following?

• A provision of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from interfering with someone’s ability to practice their religion

• A provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits governments from depriving a person’s life, liberty, or property without due process of law

• A provision of the First Amendment which prohibits the federal government from making an official American religion

• A provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits governments from denying any person within their jurisdiction equal protection under the law

Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) decision?

• It upheld the separation of church and state and clarified the limitations of state governments under the establishment clause

• It emphasized the right of parents to control the religious upbringing of their children without state infringement

• It incorporated the free exercise clause, protected under the First Amendment, to state and local governments

• It increased states’ power to place limitations on freedom of speech when that speech creates a “clear and present danger”