The guarantee of freedom of (and from) religion in America Assignment

The guarantee of freedom of (and from) religion in America - Assignment Example For example, the government is prohibited from enacting laws that aid any religion or establish an official state religion. All this is in a bid to achieve the separation of the state and church at both the state and national levels of government. In the Everson v. Board Education, the court provided a list of activities that violate the establishment and are prohibited by the First Amendment (National Paralegal College 1. They include: the setting up of a state church; the passing of laws which particularly aid one religion or aid religions generally; the forcing of or influencing of persons to attend or not attend church; the punishing of individuals for ascribing to particular beliefs or disbeliefs or for not attending or attending church; the levying of taxes to support religious activities or institutions and; the participation of government in religious organizations or participation in government by religious organizations. The Free Exercise clause is a provision that guarantees an individual the right to propagate or practice a religion without interference by government. Several activities violate the free exercise clause. First, if the purpose of any government action or state law is singling out religion for adverse treatment or hindering or discriminating against a particular religion, then it amounts to a violation of the free exercise clause. ... In Engel v. Vitale in 1962, the Supreme Court termed as unconstitutional a prayer recommended to be part of the public school curriculum in New York State. The Supreme Court struck the prayer down as unconstitutional. In Lemon v. Kurtzman in 1971, a three-pronged test known as the Lemon test was established to determine if a statute is in violation of the establishment clause. Students in public schools are not allowed to recite prayers. However, the practice of a legislature by the state to open its sessions with a nondenominational prayer that is recited by a chaplain has managed to withstand constitutional challenges. In Marsh v. Chambers in 1983, the Supreme Court made a ruling that such a practice was not in violation of the establishment clause (LII 3). In Edwards v. Aguillard in 1987, the Supreme Court struck down a Creationism Act in Louisiana that prevented the teaching of evolution in public schools. This issue still creates debate even today regarding creationism and evolu tion. Other key rulings include Lynch v. Donnelly, West Virginia State Board of Educatio v. Barnette, Wisconsin v. Yoder, and United States v. Lee. 3. What does Tocqueville observe with relevance to these matters? Tocqueville approaches the issue of religion in a pragmatic manner. Tocqueville observes that the American society has a scarce history of state-church alliance. Also, it has a constitutional guarantee against this alliance. Despite this, the American society is extremely open to religious practice’s favorable influences. In his observations, Tocqueville (1) notes that all Christian groups propound a similar morality which is based on loving God and loving their neighbors. This means that they all agree that man has duty to other men.