Religious Freedom Restoration Act :: essays research papers

Religious Freedom Restoration wager     In this wallpaper I will describe the Religious Freedom Restoration spell.This Act was used to fight down the decision of the hook case of Employment section v. Smith, which allowed the government to require any religious lay outwithout giving a reason. The RFRA brought back the requirement that thegovernment provide an adequate reason to forbid any religious act. Thegovernment once again had to show that the act was of compelling interestagainst the state.     In 1993 one of the nearly important acts that has departed thorough Congresswas passed (Religious Freedom, make up of the RFRA). This was the Religious FreedomRestoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 (Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA). This actwas passed to answer the 1990 court case Employment portion v. Smith (Questionsand Answers, Map of the RFRA). Employment Division v. Smith was a court case inwhich the issue was whether Sacramental use o f peyote by members of the NativeAmerican Church was protected under the free action clause of the number 1Amendment, which provides that Congress shall make no law...prohibiting thefree proceeding of religion.(Questions and Answers, Map of the RFRA). Accordingto Justice Scalia, if prohibiting the exercise of religion was merely the secondary effect of a generally applicable and otherwise valid provision, theFirst Amendment was not offended. (Questions and Answers, Map of the RFRA).Thus,"...the government no longer had to justify most burdens on religious exercise.The free exercise clause offered protection besides if a particular religiouspractice was singled out for discriminatory treatment. In short, free exercisewas a sub category of equal protection. This dictated religious rights in aninferior position to other First Amendment rights such as freedom of speech andpress." (Questions and Answers, Map of the RFRA).This court case caused a series of court cases about religious freedoms(Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA). Congress enacted the RFRA to contradictthe negative affect that court cases had recently had on religiousfreedoms(Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA).     The RFRA is what it states it is in the title, a restorationact(Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA). Congress decided that in EmploymentDivision v. Smith,"the supreme court virtually eliminated the requirement that the governmentjustify burdens on religious exercise imposed by laws sluggish toward religionand the compelling interest raise as set out in prior Federal court rulings isa workable test for striking sensible balances between religious liberty andcompeting prior governmental interests."(Religious Freedom, Map of the RFRA)In other words, the government did not nurse to have a reason to impose laws