REL 130 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Free Exercise Clause, Intermediate Scrutiny, Strict Scrutiny

• School: University of Alabama
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: REL 130
• Professor: altman

Document Summary

Free exercise case is a conflict between the exercise of governmental power and the e(cid:454)er(cid:272)ise of a pri(cid:448)ate part(cid:455)"s religio(cid:374) There (cid:373)ust (cid:271)e so(cid:373)e for(cid:373) of (cid:862)state a(cid:272)tio(cid:374)(cid:863) to trigger a (cid:272)o(cid:374)stitutio(cid:374)al (cid:272)ase. Plaintiff claims the law at issue infringes on their beliefs of conscience; it inhibits their acts of worship or of religious speech, press, or association. There is no stable constitutional definition of religion or method of discerning it. Torcaso v. watkins: first supreme court case to uphold the free exercise rights of an atheist. Shifting standards of review in free exercise clause. Low-level scrutiny: court will uphold the challenged law if it is: In pursuit of a legitimate governmental interest: reasonably related to that interest, free exercise plaintiffs rarely win under this level. Intermediate or heightened scrutiny: court will uphold the challenged law if it is: High or strict scrutiny: will uphold law only if it is: