Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004) avoided addressing whether the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance violated the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
The coercion test helps the Supreme Court determine whether government practices violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause. It is most often used in public school cases.| The Free Speech Center
Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president, supported a free and independent press, but thought the Supreme Court got it wrong on school prayer.| The Free Speech Center
Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith (1990) greatly changed First Amendment religious free exercise law, abandoning the compelling interest test.| The Free Speech Center
Freedom of religion guarantees the right to freely exercise one's faith and to be free from government imposition of religion.| The Free Speech Center
The Supreme Court used the three-pronged Lemon test for nearly four decades to evaluate whether a law or governmental activity violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The test was largely abandoned by 2022.| The Free Speech Center
Obscenity refers to a narrow category of pornography that violates contemporary community standards is not protected by the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Supreme Court Associate and Chief Justice William Rehnquist was not known as a defender of First Amendment rights, but he protective of some aspects of the amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) upheld the inclusion of a manger scene in a Christmas display on government property against a First Amendment establishment clause challenge.| The Free Speech Center
The establishment clause prohibits government from establishing a religion. It is sometimes referred to as separation of church and state.| The Free Speech Center
Governments must treat atheism like a religion for purposes of the First Amendment. The establishment clause prohibits the government from favoring religion over non-religion.| The Free Speech Center