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- Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause
Cantwell v. Connecticut 1940
Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
Pages | 103-107 |
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
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.
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.
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...
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- Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause
- Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause
- Reynolds v. United States 1879
- Cantwell v. Connecticut 1940
- Minersville School District v. Gobitis 1940
- Everson v. Board of Education 1947
- Engel v. Vitale 1962
- Epperson v. Arkansas 1968
- Lemon v. Kurtzman 1971
- Wisconsin v. Yoder 1972
- County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union 1989
- Lee v. Weisman 1992
- Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah 1993
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