Freedom of Religion Flashcards
FEC prevents govt from directly discriminating against
religious belief, religious status, religious conduct
When deciding if a person holds a religious belief, court can question __________ but not ___________
sincerity; veracity/truthfulness
list (2)
Law/govt conduct on religion is discriminatory if:
- Not facially neutral OR
- Targets religion generally or religion in particular instead of being generally applicable
If the law/govt regulation is facially neutral then,
FEC cannot be used to challenge the law/govt regulation UNLESS regulation specifically designed to interfere with religion
FEC and EC compel govt to
pursue a course of neutrality towards religion
Lemon test:
Gov’t violates EC if unless:
- primary purpose of law is secular,
- primary effect neither advances nor prohibits religion AND
- does not create excessive gov’t entanglement with religion
Alternate approaches to Lemon test
- Neutrality
- Coercion
- Endorsement of religion
- History/Tradition approach
Alternate tests
Neutrality approach
Gov’t must remain neutral to religion - can’t favor or disfavor
Alternate tests
Coercion approach
Govt cannot directly or indirectly coerce individuals to exercise their religion
Alternate tests
Endorsement of religion approach
Govt cannot appear to endorse or disprove of religion from the standpoint of a reasonable and informed observer and make religion seem relevant to a person’s standing in political community
- ex: only having baby jesus decorations at steps of cthouse invalid*
- having baby jesus + santa + candy + non-religious display valid*
EC cases focus are grouped into these 4 categories
- cases preferring one religious sect over others
- limited group of cases unconnected to finaid or edu
- cases involving finaid to religious affiliated institutions
- cases concerning religious activity in public schools
