Also known as: religious exercises · free exercise · exercise of religion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct or observance undertaken because of sincere religious belief. The Free Exercise Clause protects such conduct from government burdens that are not neutral or generally applicable or that target religion.
Rosalind Reed organizes weekly prayer meetings at her home. The city enacts a rule limiting gatherings to ten people and applies it to block her meetings while allowing larger secular events. Reed challenges the restriction as burdening her religious exercise.
Renata Russo's religious community performs animal sacrifice as part of worship. The city passes an ordinance banning the precise method used in those rituals but permits comparable secular slaughter. Russo sues, claiming the law burdens religious exercise.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Regina Robinson loses her job after using a controlled substance in a religious ceremony. The state applies its neutral criminal prohibition and denies unemployment benefits. Robinson claims the denial burdens her religious exercise.
Rita Russell's religious agency certifies foster parents only in accordance with its faith tenets. The city policy allows officials to grant case-by-case waivers for secular reasons but refuses Russell's request. Russell sues over the burden on religious exercise.
Ricardo Rojas and his spouse remove their children from public school after eighth grade to provide religious and vocational training at home. The state enforces compulsory attendance until age sixteen. Rojas asserts that enforcement burdens the family's religious exercise.
Robert Rivera edits a student journal with religious viewpoints. The university denies funding available to other student groups. Rivera claims the denial burdens religious exercise by excluding his publication from a generally available benefit.
A law triggers strict scrutiny when it is not neutral or generally applicable, such as when officials may grant individualized exemptions for secular reasons but deny them for religious ones. The presence of discretionary waiver authority means the government must justify any refusal to accommodate religious exercise.
Supporting sources
No. A neutral, generally applicable criminal prohibition that incidentally burdens religious conduct does not violate the Free Exercise Clause. The state may enforce the law and withhold benefits tied to violations without providing a religious exemption.
Supporting sources
An exemption is required when parents show that secondary schooling conflicts with sincere religious beliefs, the community is law-abiding and self-sufficient, and an alternative educational program meets the state's interests in producing productive citizens.
Supporting sources
A law that targets a specific religious practice is not neutral and must satisfy strict scrutiny. The government must prove the law is necessary to achieve a compelling interest that cannot be served by less restrictive means.
Supporting sources
Yes. When the government opens a generally available benefit or forum, it may not exclude religious participants solely because of the religious character of their speech or activity.
Supporting sources
…the Obligation of Contracts,” denying “Full Faith and Credit” to the “public Acts” of other States, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing the right to keep and bear arms, authorizing unreasonable searches and seizures, and so forth. Aside from these limitations, those powers…