The 1st Amendent

The 1^st Amendent

On behalf of his congregation, Seixas sent a letter to George Washington expressing gratitude and delight that Constitution would give “to bigotry no sanction, [and] to persecution no assistance.” In his reply, Washington reinforced the confidence Seixas’ placed in the Constitution by stating: “It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.”

This marked a transition away from toleration (government granting the privilege to worship) and towards religious liberty (religious belief or non-belief being an inalienable right of the individual). Months after Washington’s visit, the First Amendment was added to the Constitution, declaring that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

School prayer

After WWII members of the Roman Catholic and Jewish faith began to complain about protestant prayers in the public schools. People felt that any form of government  sponsored religious exercises in public schools were inappropriate and unconstitutional.  New York passed an school prayer that was by chose. NO establishment clause.

Engel v. vitale 1962.