Also known as: free exercise clause · Free Exercise Clause · First Amendment free exercise
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional command in the First Amendment that bars government from prohibiting the free exercise of religion. A law or policy triggers strict scrutiny when it targets religious conduct or permits individualized exemptions that are denied to religious claimants. Neutral and generally applicable rules that only incidentally burden sincere religious practices do not violate the clause.
Fiona Foster leads a religious community that performs animal sacrifice as part of worship. The city enacts an ordinance banning only the precise method used in those ceremonies while allowing other animal killings. The ordinance fails strict scrutiny because it was designed to suppress the religious practice rather than advance a compelling interest through necessary means.
Francisco Frost is fired after using peyote during a religious ceremony. The state denies unemployment benefits under a criminal prohibition that applies to everyone. The denial stands because the drug law is neutral and generally applicable and imposes only an incidental burden on religious conduct.
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Fatima Flores runs a faith-based foster agency that cannot certify same-sex couples under its religious tenets. The city allows discretionary waivers for secular agencies with specialized missions but denies her request. The policy is not generally applicable and must satisfy strict scrutiny, which the city cannot meet.
Fernando Farrell withdraws his children from school after eighth grade so they can receive religious instruction and vocational training on the family farm. The state enforces compulsory attendance until age sixteen. The Free Exercise Clause combined with parental rights requires an exemption because the alternative practices satisfy the state's interests.
A student is denied a state scholarship usable toward any degree except a devotional theology degree. The state applies the exclusion uniformly to all applicants. The denial does not violate the Free Exercise Clause because the rule is neutral and generally applicable and reflects a permissible decision not to fund clerical training.
An employee is denied unemployment benefits after refusing Saturday work on sincere religious grounds. The state applies its work-search rules uniformly. The Free Exercise Clause requires the state to recognize the individualized religious claim without demanding formal denominational membership.
Strict scrutiny applies when a law targets religious conduct or allows discretionary exemptions that are denied to religious claimants. Neutral and generally applicable rules receive only rational basis review even if they incidentally burden religion.
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No. A neutral and generally applicable safety regulation that only incidentally burdens religious practice satisfies the Free Exercise Clause. The government need not prove a compelling interest or narrow tailoring.
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The policy is not generally applicable. Strict scrutiny governs, and the government must show a compelling interest pursued through the least restrictive means. Denial of a religious exemption in that setting violates the Free Exercise Clause.
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…and Justice Marshall joined. Majority opinion Opinion of Justice Scalia This case requires us to decide whether the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment permits the State of Oregon to include religiously inspired peyote use within the reach of its general criminal prohibition on use of that drug, and thus permits the…