Law Commons^™

The Case Against A Right To Religion-Based Exemptions, Ellis M. West

Political Science Faculty Publications

When, if ever, does the free exercise clause of the first amendment give an individual or organization the right to disobey with impunity a valid law of the state? This question is being discussed with increasing frequency and intensity because of the growing number of persons and groups who are going to the courts and claiming such a right on the grounds that the application of certain laws to them would burden their free exercise of religion. Almost all the individuals and some of the groups who claim such a right do so because the laws to which they object …