Cantwell v. Connecticut 1940

• Author: Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw
• Pages: 103-107

Contenidos

• Exercising religion.
• Spreading the faith.
• Limiting the freedom of religion.
• Cantwell's legacy.
• Suggestions for further reading.

Page 103

Appellants: Newton Cantwell, Jesse Cantwell, Russell Cantwell

Appellee: State of Connecticut

Appellants' Claim: That a state law requiring a public official to approve a religion before its members can make door-to-door solicitations violates the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

Chief Lawyer for Appellants: Hayden C. Covington

Chief Lawyers for Appellee: Edwin S. Pickett and Francis A. Pallotti

Justices for the Court: Hugo Lafayette Black, William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, Charles Evans Hughes, James Clark McReynolds, Frank Murphy, Stanley Forman Reed, Owen Josephus Roberts (writing for the Court), Harlan Fiske Stone

Justices Dissenting: None

Date of Decision: May 20, 1940

Decision: The state law violated the freedom of religion. The Supreme Court said a state may control the time, place, and manner of solicitation only if it does not treat religions differently.

Significance: The Court made it clear that states must recognize the freedom of religion as laid out in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Page 104

Exercising religion

One of the freedoms protected by law in the United States is the right to choose and speak about one's religious beliefs. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects this freedom by preventing Congress from passing any laws that prohibit, or ban, the "free exercise" of religion. This portion of the First Amendment is called the Free Exercise Clause.

Associate Justice Owen Josephus Roberts. Courtesy of the Supreme Court of the United States.

One of the greatest tests of freedom of religion in America comes when different religions clash. Centuries ago, before the United States declared independence from England, the British government took care of this problem by outlawing all religions except the official Church of England. The Free Exercise Clause was written to prevent the U.S. government from having such power over religion. Cantwell v. Connecticut tested the strength of this freedom in the United States.

Spreading the faith

Newton Cantwell and his two sons, Jesse and Russell, were Jehovah's Witnesses living in Connecticut in the 1930s. Jehovah's Witnesses is a form of Christianity that believes the end of the world is near. Its members spend much of their time preaching to others to gain new members...