Guided Reading Activity Answer Key - Weebly

Guided Reading Activity Answer Key

Constitutional Freedoms

Lesson 3 Freedom of Religion

Review Questions

I.

Religious Freedom

A. The two requirements are that the government shall not make laws to endorse or require a

particular religion, and that the government shall not prohibit people from freely exercising

their religion. In other words, the First Amendment prohibits the government from either

endorsing or punishing religious belief or practice.

B. One view is that the government must be neutral toward religion. According to the other view,

the First Amendment requires the government to accommodate religious belief and practice,

as long as it does not establish or promote a particular state or national religion.

Copyright ? McGraw-Hill Education

II. The Establishment Clause

A. It forbids state and federal governments from setting up churches, from passing laws aiding

one or all religions, from favoring one religion over another, or from passing laws requiring

attendance at any church or belief in any religious idea.

B. The ¡°separation of church and state¡± is not found in the Constitution, but was rather an

explanation by Thomas Jefferson of the meaning of the establishment clause.

C. ¡°The Lemon Test¡± asks whether the activity has a secular purpose, whether its main effect is

religiously neutral, and whether it avoids excessive entanglement of government with religion.

D. Students may still study religion and meet in religious groups, and schools are allowed to teach

about the history of religion and the religions of the world as long as they do not endorse any

particular belief. Student-initiated and student-led groups, including student prayer groups, are

allowed to use school space to meet outside school hours, just like any other club.

E. Generally, the Supreme Court has ruled that in instances where governments display symbols

of a variety of religions, or do so with a secular (nonreligious) purpose, such displays are

constitutional.

III. The Free Exercise Clause

A. The free exercise clause in the First Amendment protects the right of individuals to worship as

they choose.

Summary and Reflection

In Van Orden v. Perry, the Supreme Court ruled that a display on public property of a privately donated

collection of monuments and statues that included the Ten Commandments was constitutional. It did

not feature one particular religion. In Minersville School District v. Gobitis, the Supreme Court ruled that

Jehovah¡¯s Witnesses must participate in the promotion of patriotism through the flag salute and Pledge

of Allegiance, but this decision was reversed in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, when

the Court ruled that patriotism could be achieved without forcing people to violate their religious beliefs.

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