Deck 13: Religious Liberty

Question 1

In West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the Supreme Court _____.

A) struck down a state law that compelled public-school students to salute the American flag
B) struck down a state law that compelled public-school students to recite the Lord's Prayer
C) exempted children of Amish families from compulsory-school attendance regulations
D) upheld a state law that compelled public-school students to recite the pledge of allegiance because it "imbued citizenship"

Answer 1

A

Question 2

_____ was the first case in which the Supreme Court applied the Free Exercise Clause to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment.

A) Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
B) Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
C) Abington v. Schempp (1963)
D) Schenck v. United States (1919)

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which justice was most clearly identified with the view that government may accommodate religious practices? _____

A) Hugo Black
B) Robert Jackson
C) William Brennan
D) William Rehnquist

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The Supreme Court struck down public-school-sponsored Bible readings and prayers in _____.

A) Abington v. Schempp (1963)
B) Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
C) Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
D) Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Question 5

Which of the following is not a prong of the Lemon test? _____

A) The challenged law or practice must have a secular purpose.
B) The challenged law or practice may not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion.
C) The challenged law or practice must guarantee the absolute separation of government from religion.
D) The challenged law or practice may not lead to an excessive entanglement between church and state.

Question 6

In Wallace v. Jaffree (1985), the Supreme Court _____ an Alabama law that required students in public schools to _____.

A) reviewed; recite an official prayer composed by the state board of education
B) upheld; study "creation science" as well as the theory of evolution
C) struck down; observe a moment of silence at the start of each school day
D) struck down; remain silent during graduation prayers

Question 7

In Employment Division v. Smith (1990), the Supreme Court _____ a claim by _____ that their ritualistic use of _____ constituted free exercise of religion.

A) accepted; Satanists; animal sacrifice
B) rejected; Native Americans; peyote
C) accepted; Native Americans; peyote
D) rejected; Satanists; animal sacrifice

Question 8

The test from Lemon v. Kurtzman was strengthened in Agostini v. Felton_____.

Question 9

The holding in Santa Fe v. Doe is consistent with the holding in Abington v. Schempp. ______

Question 10

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris concerned ______.

A) school vouchers
B) Bible reading in public schools
C) prayer at high school football games
D) a nativity scene on public property

Question 11

McCreary County v. A.C.L.U. involved ______.

A) prayer in public schools
B) a Christmas tree in a county courthouse
C) a display containing the Ten Commandments
D) none of the above

Question 12

Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment grants Congress the authority to legislate in the field of _____.

A) eminent domain
B) presidential power
C) civil rights
D) international relations

Question 13

Town of Greece v. Galloway involved _____.

A) a nativity scene in a municipal park
B) a Christmas display in front of city hall
C) prayer at monthly meetings of the town's governing board
D) none of the above

Question 14

In Town of Greece v. Galloway the opinions focused heavily on the Court's prior decision in______.

A) Marsh v. Chambers
B) West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette
C) Abington Township v. Schempp
D) Santa Fe v. Doe

Question 15

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) involved

A) racial discrimination
B) free exercise of religion
C) discriminatory taxation
D) voting rights

Question 16

American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019) involved

A) the establishment clause
B) a cross
C) World War I
D) all of the above

Question 17

Does Zelman logically follow from Agostini? Explain.

Question 18

What element of Schempp do you find in Lemon? Explain.

Question 19

What noteworthy change in the law of the First Amendment was brought about by Sherbert v. Verner?

Question 20

In Employment Division v. Smith, how could Justice O'Connor employ the reasoning from Sherbert to arrive at the result Justice Scalia reached in Smith?

Question 21

What role for the Supreme Court in the American political system does Justice Frankfurter articulate in his majority opinion and his dissenting opinion in the two Flag Salute Cases (Minersville School District v. Gobitis, and West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette)?

Question 22

In Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), both Justice Stone and Justice Frankfurter professed adherence to the spirit of Footnote 4. Can both be right? Discuss.

Question 23

In what ways do Sherbert v. Verner (1963) and Employment Division v. Smith (1990) present contrasting interpretations of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment?

Question 24

In light of Smith, what intriguing constitutional problem is posed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993?

Question 25

The past four decades have witnessed substantial changes in the constitutional definition of religious liberty, in the context of both the establishment and free exercise clauses. Discuss this phenomenon by examining either Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) and Agostini v. Felton (1997)-both of which deal with government assistance to church-supported schools-or by examining Sherbert v. Verner (1963), Employment Division v. Smith (1990), and City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)-all three of which concern the limits of the free exercise clause.

Question 26

Dissenting in Lemon v. Kurtzman, Justice White wrote, "The Court … creates an insoluble paradox for the State and the parochial schools." What was the paradox to which White referred? To what extent does Agostini v. Felton erase the paradox? Explain.

Question 27

Consider Justice Stewart's concurring opinion in Sherbert v. Verner. There, he writes that the Court's interpretation of the Establishment Clause was on a collision course with its interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause, as the latter was unfolded in Sherbert. What did Stewart mean? Do you agree? (Among other things, make sure that you essay demonstrates your understanding of the Sherbert case.)

Question 28

In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, had the Court based its decision on Lemon v. Kurtzman, how would Zelman probably been decided? Why? Explain.

Question 29

Is the Supreme Court's decision in McCreary County v. A.C.L.U. (2005) consistent with its ruling in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)? Explain.

Question 30

What constitutional issue did the Court encounter in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)?
a. How was the case decided? Explain.
b. May the case be seen in a way to illustrate tension between the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment? Explain.

Question 31

What question did the Supreme Court decide in Sherbert v. Verner (1963)? What was the Court's decision? Does Footnote Four from United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938) seem relevant to this case? Explain.

Question 32

What redirection in the constitutional law of religious liberty occurred in Employment Division v. Smith? Explain. Had Justice Blackmun (who authored the dissent in Smith) been able to write for the majority instead, would Alfred Smith and Galen Black probably have emerged victorious in the litigation? Why?

Question 33

In what ways does Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020) engage both the establishment and free exercise clauses?

Question 34

In his majority opinion in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, Chief Justice Roberts wrote, "We have recognized a 'play in the joints' between what the Establishment Clause permits and the Free Exercise Clause compels." Discuss.