THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
The U.S. Constitution, with its 26 Amendments, is the supreme law of the land, which federal
and state judges, legislators, and executives are bound by oath to enforce. The
“Supreme Law of the Land” as declared in Article 6, Section 2, of the
Constitution, includes the Constitution, laws of the United States made in
accordance with it, and treaties made under the authority of the United States.
The Constitution of a state, like that of the nation, is the supreme law
within the realm of its authority. It is a limitation on the power of the
state’s legislature, binding on the several departments of state government,
and on the people themselves, subject only to the restraints that result from
the federal Constitution.
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 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 the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment XIV
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein
they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
(There are five sections to Amendment XIV)
THE
WILLIAMSBURG CHARTER
SUMMARY OF PRINCIPLES
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof ...
The Religious
Liberty clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution are a momentous
decision, the most important political decision for religious liberty and public
justice in history. Two hundred years after their enactment they stand out
boldly in a century made dark by state repression and sectarian conflict. Yet
the ignorance and contention now surrounding the clauses are a reminder that
their advocacy and defense is a task for each succeeding generation.
We acknowledge
our deep and continuing differences over religious beliefs, political policies
and constitutional interpretations. But together we celebrate the genius of the
Religious Liberty clauses, and affirm the following truths to be among the first
principles that are in the shared interest of all Americans:
1. Religious liberty, freedom of conscience, is a precious, fundamental
and inalienable right. A society is only as just and free as it is respectful of
this right for its smallest minorities and least popular communities.
2. Religious liberty is founded on the inviolable dignity of the person.
It is not based on science or social usefulness and is not dependent on the
shifting moods of majorities and governments.
3. Religious liberty is our nation's "first liberty," which
undergirds all other rights and freedoms secured by the Bill of Rights.
4. The two Religious Liberty clauses address distinct concerns, but
together they serve the same end - religious liberty, or freedom of conscience,
for citizens of all faiths or none.
5. The No Establishment clause separates Church from State but not
religion from politics or public life. It prevents the confusion of religion and
government which has been a leading source of repression and coercion throughout
history.
6. The Free Exercise clause guarantees the right to reach, hold,
exercise or change beliefs freely. It allows all citizens who so desire to shape
their lives, whether private or public, on the basis of personal and communal
beliefs.
7. The Religious Liberty clauses are both a protection of individual
liberty and a provision for ordering the relationship of religion and public
life. They allow us to live with our deepest differences and enable diversity to
be a source of national strength.
8. Conflict and debate are vital to democracy. Yet if controversies
about religion and politics are to reflect the highest wisdom of the First
Amendment and advance the best interests of the disputants and the nation, then
how we debate, and not only what we debate, is critical.
9. One of America's continuing needs is to develop, out of our
differences, a common vision for the common good. Today that common vision must
embrace a shared understanding of the place of religion in public life and of
the guiding principles by which people with deep religious differences can
contend robustly but civilly with each other.
10. Central to the notion of the common good, and of greater importance
each day because of the increase of pluralism, is the recognition that religious
liberty is a universal right. Rights are best guarded and responsibilities best
exercised when each person and group guards for all others those rights they
wish guarded for themselves.
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