In this paper I will describe the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This Act was
used to contradict the decision of the court case of Employment Division v. Smith, which
allowed the government to forbid any religious act without giving a reason. The RFRA
brought back the requirement that the government provide an adequate reason to forbid
any religious act. The government once again had to show that the act was of compelling
interest against the state.
In 1993 one of the most important acts that has gone thorough Congress was
passed (Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA). This was the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 (Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA). This act was
passed to answer the 1990 court case Employment Division v. Smith (Questions and
Answers, Map of the RFRA). Employment Division v. Smith was a court case in which
the issue was whether "Sacramental use of peyote by members of the Native American
Church was protected under the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, which
provides that 'Congress shall make no law...prohibiting
the free exercise of
religion'."(Questions and Answers, Map of the RFRA). According to Justice Scalia, "if
prohibiting the exercise of religion was merely the incidental effect of a generally
applicable and otherwise valid provision, the First Amendment was not offended."
(Questions and Answers, Map of the RFRA). Thus,
"...the government no longer had to justify most burdens on religious
exercise. The free exercise clause offered protection only if a particular
religious practice was singled out for discriminatory treatment. In short,
free exercise was a sub category of equal protection. This placed religious
rights in an inferior position to other First Amendment rights such as
freedom of speech and press." (Questions and Answers, Map of the
RFRA).
This court case caused...
What is this?
is this an essay or a qestion answer session?
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