Topics: Religious Perspectives and Churches

• Amish and Mennonites

  The pacifism and effort of the Amish and Mennonites to separate themselves from worldliness have led to a number of important First Amendment legal precedents...

• Atheism

  Governments must treat atheism like a religion for purposes of the First Amendment. The establishment clause prohibits the government from favoring religion...

• Baptists

  Baptists were the first religious group to adopt separation of church and state as a fundamental article of faith. They have advocated for worldwide religious...

• Christian Scientists

  Many states have convicted Christian Scientists, who espouse healing through prayer, of neglect and manslaughter; others have granted exemptions under the First...

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mormons

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has helped shape the government-religion relationship through their interpretation of the First Amendment...

• Evangelicals

  Evangelicals have been involved in Supreme Court cases concerning First Amendment freedoms, winning such high-profile cases as Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores...

• Islam

  Islam has several unique religious free exercise issues stemming from the First Amendment; however, the establishment clause has roused little debate...

• Jehovah’s Witnesses

  Perhaps no religious sect has had a greater impact relative to its size on expanding the First Amendment free exercise of religion than has the Jehovah’s...

• Judaism

  The First Amendment gave Jews the opportunity to exercise their faith freely. Yet, they have still faced challenges from those who perceive America as a...

• Native Americans

  At times, U.S. governments have denied First Amendment rights to Native Americans. Indian religious beliefs have sometimes posed dilemmas for the application of...

• Puritans

  The framers of the Constitution would look to the Puritan era in history for guidance when crafting the First Amendment rights for freedom of religion...

• Quakers

  Quakers were early advocates of religious freedom and have been at the forefront in protecting and ensuring First Amendment religious liberty rights and other...

• Religious Right

  The religious right movement began in the 1970s after Supreme Court decisions in First Amendment cases that invalidated public prayer and Bible readings in...

• Roman Catholics

  Roman Catholics have been involved in First Amendment religious liberty issues as well as controversies surrounding the separation of church and state...

• Scientology

  New religions such as Scientology often pose special problems for the legal system and the First Amendment. The religion has had run-ins with the federal...

• Seventh-day Adventists

  Because of their beliefs, including that Saturday is the Sabbath, members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church have been plaintiffs in many First Amendment...

• Unitarianism

  The lack of a formal creed in Unitarian Universalism has led some critics to say it lacks religious content and should not be afforded protection under the...

• Wicca

  Wicca is a minority Neo-Pagan religion of relatively recent origins that was recognized as a religion protected under the First Amendment by a circuit court in...