The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:
- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The following summaries rely on Supreme Court decisions which have clarified and defined the meaning and scope of this amendment.
While the phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in the First Amendment, the concept (originally mentioned by Thomas Jefferson) is a logical extension of the establishment and free exercise clauses. True freedom of religion depends on government neutrality with regard to religion.
- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"
This clause may appear to simply prevent Congress from declaring a national religion. However, the Fourteenth Amendment extends these protections to all citizen, effectively prohibiting individual states from circumventing rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Additionally, the Supreme Court has determined that the scope of this clause implies that "Government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion." (Justice David Souter, for the majority in Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet)
Note: The word "respecting", in this clause, means "regarding" and not "showing respect for".
- "...or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"
Essentially, the rights of each individual to exercise their religious beliefs cannot be infringed. The government can intervene and prohibit certain religious practices if they conflict with other laws and such interference has a secular, religiously-neutral purpose. Generally, one individual's rights end where another's begin - ensuring that "free exercise" cannot be used as an excuse for violating the rights of others.