Aleksandr asked:


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This specifically refers to Congress. Why can’t the states ordain their own official religions, ban other religions, control what people can say or print, or ban assemblies? Or ban petitions?
Of the 14th amendment, which part? No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States?
Not a Christian fundamentalist or anything, by the way, just trying to understand how the law works… it specifically states the Congress may not do these things, not the States… if anything, there should be an amendment to correct this oversight

20 Responses to “What keeps the states from establishing an official religion?”

1. cloothe on March 23rd, 2008 4:07 am

   The 14th Amendment to the Constitution applies the restrictions on “Federal” activities to the States. But prior to the 14th Amendment (that is, prior to the Civil War), some states did have official churches, with tax money going to support them.

2. Ynot me 2 on March 23rd, 2008 9:58 am

   it’s in the constitution and they would lose federal priviledges if not followed

3. jacartamonkey on March 25th, 2008 1:28 am

   States have their own Constitutions.

4. broken on March 25th, 2008 6:26 am

   because you dumb a s s this is America and we are free. Out government does not regulate religion!! You are free to believe whatever dumb religion you want to believe in. even if it’s Mickey Mouse you pray to!!

5. badkitty1969 on March 28th, 2008 3:56 am

   Umm…..because it’s unconstitutional. The states can do anything within the bounds of the constitution. If the constitution says no, then the states can’t do it. Period.

6. shelbzster on March 31st, 2008 7:47 am

   That is pretty much the whole reason why the Puritans left England, they wanted to be free to choose. That is why so many people say, “it’s a free country.”

7. Linda on April 1st, 2008 2:07 am

   Because you are in America where we have the freedom to choose. If you want that move to the Middle East.

8. growing_list on April 3rd, 2008 6:14 am

   seperation of church and state–lets not allow the pope (or any other cult leader for that matter) govern again like they used to

9. Constitutionalism on April 6th, 2008 3:02 am

   The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All state laws and legislatures are subordinate to the US Constitution.

10. coragryph on April 7th, 2008 6:43 am

    Because the liberal Supreme Court read into the 14th Amendment that all the Bill of Rights (except the 2nd, go figure) should apply to the States as well.

    So, the states get hamstrung, and are not able to function the way the Founders intended.

11. Jess on April 7th, 2008 6:43 pm

    I may be a little confused on the question but wouldn’t the answer be because of the first and second amendment on the Constitution

12. b_oregon.geo on April 10th, 2008 6:18 pm

    No state can pass a law that reduces and individuals protection under the Constituion.

13. chaniann@sbcglobal.net on April 11th, 2008 3:27 pm

    Our Constitution saves us from this. However, if Bush had his way, we would would all be Fundamentalist Christians………..as he sees Christianity. As I am not a Christian, this really infuriates me.

14. Gina K on April 13th, 2008 10:22 am

    because state laws can’t trump federal laws. thats why some states can have gay marraige and some can’t, because nowhere does it say “the government shall not allow gay marraige”

    if the federal government says nothing about it, states can do as they please. until the federal govt trumps them with a fed law.

    and because that would be a really bad idea.

15. Ice4444 on April 16th, 2008 1:33 am

    Because that would go against the constitution. We all have a right to free speach as well as the right to worship or not worship as we would like.

    People are not educated in history. Our forefathers were NOT Christians they were deists.

    DEISTS: Historical and modern deism (from Latin: deus) is defined by the view that reason and logic, rather than revelation or tradition, should be the basis of belief in God. Deists reject both organized and revealed religion and maintain that reason is the essential element in all knowledge. For a “rational basis for religion” they refer to the cosmological argument (first cause argument), the teleological argument (argument from design), and other aspects of what was called natural religion. Deism has also come to be identified with the classical belief that God created but does not intervene in the world, though this is not a necessary component of deism.

    The states are not allowed by law to create their own religion and that’s obviously a good thing.

    Deists: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Aristotle.

16. george p on April 18th, 2008 7:59 pm

    they run out of ideas they have their religion established 300 years ago figure out

17. patrick on April 21st, 2008 10:53 pm

    The federal law ( laws created by congress ) supersede all other laws. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and all laws ( city, state and federal ) must adhere to it.

18. Unknown Oscillator on April 23rd, 2008 7:00 pm

    A series of Supreme Court decisions incorporated parts of the federal bill of rights into the 14th amendment, which guarantees due process and prohibits states from denying equal protection of the law.

19. AdamKadmon on April 25th, 2008 5:06 pm

    Federal law SUPERCEDE’S state law. And Federal Law has says there shall be no laws of this kind.

    This is also why states can’t pass tax laws doing away with federal tax laws. Would be nice tho!

20. wm_omnibus on April 26th, 2008 5:46 am

    As far as I know, nothing prevents it, except our current concept of federal power in the USA. A state-funded religion would be unthinkable today, but remember, Americans believed in federalism after the country was founded.

    As others have answered here, we don’t believe in that anymore – authority is not “divided” between the state and national governments; what is not a national law, is left to the states.

    In other words, what the feds aren’t interested in assuming the cost of running, they leave for the states to administer. :<

    Before the Civil War, Americans were citizens first of all of their state, not of the USA. You had your Viginians and your Rhode Islanders and your New Yorkers.

    Not until after the Civil War, in fact, did we refer to the USA as a singular entity – it’s true, before the War, we would say “…the United States are…”, but after, we began saying what we say now – “…the United States is.”

    This is important to keep in mind, because we just take it for granted that federal power is supreme. This was not always so. (Ask anyone who pays state property taxes… and votes in state elections.)

    So I’d urge us Answer-folk please keep these realities in mind before we judge another era’s religious arrangements.