Topic > Overview of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment, Amendment I, to the United States Constitution bars Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abating rights freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to peaceably assemble or to petition for government redress of grievances. Amendment I was adopted on December 15, 1791 as one of the ten amendments establishing the Bill of Rights. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe free exercise clause refers to the section of the First Amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise" thereof...".The free exercise clause reserves the right of American citizens to accept any religious belief and to engage in religious rites and customs. The free exercise clauses of state constitutions that protected “opinion, the expression of opinions, and the practice of religion were all expressly protected” by the free exercise clause. The clause protects not only religious opinions but also actions taken in the name of those principles. More specifically, the wording of state constitutions proposes that “free exercise shall provide religiously mandated exemptions from at least some generally applicable laws.” The free exercise clause does not merely defend religious faith and ostentation; it also appears to allow for the contamination of laws, as long as that violation is done for religious reasons. In terms of economic theory, the free exercise clause supports a spiritual free market through the imminent fiscal policy of religious actions by minority factions. There are primarily three types of interpretations of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution: broad, narrow, and literal. First, a broad interpretation provides that the government is prohibited from providing any aid to any religion, that people have “freedom from religion,” and that church and state must be clearly separated. Second, the narrow interpretation defines that the government is prohibited from providing preferential treatment to any religious group and that it is not prevented from supporting the religion as long as it does so objectively. Finally, the literal interpretation determines that the government is only prohibited from inaugurating an approved religion and that the government is not prohibited from actively participating in any religious practice, as long as it does not proclaim an official religion. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayIn Generally, both the Establishment and Free Clauses prohibit constitutional participation with an intrusion into religious cases, however, there is a conceivable squeeze between a prerequisite of governmental impartiality derived from the Establishment Clause and a resulting free exercise condition that the government welcomes some religious observances.