Free Exercise Clause

{
  "id": "MLC-T-LAW-002231",
  "term": "Free Exercise Clause",
  "field": "Law",
  "definition": "The clause of the First Amendment that bars Congress, and through the Fourteenth Amendment the states, from prohibiting the free exercise of religion, protecting both belief and religiously motivated conduct. Under the Supreme Court's 1990 Smith decision, a neutral law of general applicability that only incidentally burdens religion is upheld without heightened scrutiny, but a law that targets religion or lacks neutrality and general applicability must survive strict scrutiny. It is distinct from the Establishment Clause, which bars government establishment of religion.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/law/free-exercise-clause/"
}