All these people who keep yelling about the Constitution and how it’s being violated by the government and keep insisting that “This is a Christian country.” and claiming the government is carrying on a “War on religion” need to read it.
Here’s a link to the constitution.
http://ratify.constitutioncenter.org/constitution/constitution.pdf
And here’s what the 1st amendment actually says:
¨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”
Isn’t the exclusion of a business owned by a religious establishment (which a church is) from compliance with laws businesses not owned by a religious establishment must comply with a law “respecting an establishment of religion”? The first amendment says very clearly that the government can not show respect to “an establishment of religion” (which a church is.)
And as far as freedom OF not FROM religion goes it says Congress can’t pass a law “prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The 1st amendment does not contain the phrase “freedom of religion.” But anyone who claims there is no right to freedom FROM religion needs to check out the ninth amendment:
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
The 1st amendment tells Congress it can’t pass laws (and government agencies can’t issue regulations required to be issued under laws passed by Congress) supporting or promoting, limiting or prohibiting; in short it can’t do anything that shows preference for, opposition to, encouragement of, discouragement of, support for, inhibition of, or even any reference to or acknowledgment of religion or “an establishment of religion”. The government can’t take religion into consideration when making laws or issuing regulations – laws and regulations have to apply EQUALLY to all parties affected by the law or regulation with NO special privileges or exclusions base on religious considerations. What the first amendment does is to tell the government it must be blind to the existence of religion and to the exercise thereof and leave religion to the individual and his conscience . It puts religion specifically in the list of things covered by the 10th amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
There’s nothing ambiguous about the first amendment. It is written in clear, concise, plain, simple everyday English. Everything having to do with religion or “an establishment of religion” is reserved to the people. The government is prohibited from doing or saying anything about it … Pro or Con.