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Amendment I (the First Amendment) to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights. It states:

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.

Thus, it prevents the United States Congress from passing any law which:

• establishes a religion
• restricts religious freedom
• restricts free speech
• restricts the freedom of the press
• restricts the right of the people to demonstrate against the government

The consequences of this Amendment to American society have been profound. First Amendment questions have been raised with regard to the separation of church and state; civil rights issues; pornography and obscenity; political speech and organizations; journalism and its restrictions; involuntary commitment laws; and many more.

However, it is important to note that the question regarding the separation of church and state was not defined in the Constitution; rather, President Thomas Jefferson popularized that interpretation. The Constitution specifically prohibits only the establishment of a state religion (leading to cases such as Lemon v. Kurtzman) and any laws interfering with the freedom of religion (leading to cases such as Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association).

See also

• Freedom of assembly
• Antidisestablishmentarianism
• Civil religion
• Lemon test
• United States Constitution on Wikisource

External links

• freedomforum.org: First Amendment