The implications of the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech , or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble , and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

The Amendment contains three clauses , the Establishment and free exercise Clause (religion , the Free Press /Speech Clause and the Assembly Clause

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a national religion by Congress or the preference of one

religion over another , or religion over non-religion . Justice David Souter , writing for the majority in Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v . Grumet , concluded that "government should not prefer one religion to another , or religion to irreligion

The fundamental principle underlying all these decisions is that the Constitution commands that public schools may not take sides in matters of religion and may not endorse a particular religious perspective or any religion at all

The Warren Court held that the Free Exercise Clause meant governments must have a compelling interest before passing a law that unduly burdens the practice of religion . Later court decisions permitted governmental actions that were neutral to interfere with religion . Congress attempted to restore it by passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act , which the Supreme Court in City of Boerne v . Flores held was inapplicable to state and local government actions , albeit applicable to federal action . This constitutional guarantee upholds the concept of the separation of the church and the state .The Supreme Court has held in the Wallace case that a school district may not require that students observe a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day where the purpose of such a requirement is that students use that time for prayer Similarly the Court has held in Stone v . Graham that the state may not require the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms , and may not require the teaching of "creation science " in public school science classes where evolution is taught as held in Edwards v . Aguillard

This will not change even if the initiative would come from the students .The fact that a majority of students may ask the school district to allow a prayer at graduation does not change the requirements of the Establishment Clause . Indeed , the very purpose of the Establishment Clause is to prevent a majoritarian government from imposing particular religious beliefs -- or any religious beliefs at all -- on individuals in our society who do not share those beliefs

Our freedom of speech , protected by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights , is one of our most basic constitutional rights . Yet the precise nature of what is protected by the First Amendment is often misunderstood . Debate in the House is unenlightening with regard to the meaning the Members ascribed to the speech and press clause and there is no record of debate in the Senate . However , in the course...