Regarding the First Amendment's protections on the freedom of religion, the key word is "respecting", which in the American English of the day held the following definition:
"RESPECT'ING, participle present tense Regarding; having regard to; relating to."
Regarding the First Amendment's protections on the freedom of religion, the key word is "respecting", which in the American English of the day held the following definition:
"RESPECT'ING, participle present tense Regarding; having regard to; relating to."
In other words, Congress is precluded from passing any law which touches on any church or denomination, or even faith. The immediate impetus for this particular binding upon Congress was the religious laws and requirements for holding public office found in England--we should not forget that many of the colonies were founded by religious refugees from England--and which were a part of British law up into the 19th century.
Since the prohibition is categorical and absolute, there are no "limits" which may be implied. Much as with the prohibition on abridging the freedom of speech or infringing upon the right to keep and bear arms, the prohibition on religious laws is categorical. The whole corpus of such law is clearly and unambiguously in the "thou shalt not" column.
Regarding the First Amendment's protections on the freedom of religion, the key word is "respecting", which in the American English of the day held the following definition:
"RESPECT'ING, participle present tense Regarding; having regard to; relating to."
https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/respecting
The word holds fundamentally the same definition today.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/respecting
In other words, Congress is precluded from passing any law which touches on any church or denomination, or even faith. The immediate impetus for this particular binding upon Congress was the religious laws and requirements for holding public office found in England--we should not forget that many of the colonies were founded by religious refugees from England--and which were a part of British law up into the 19th century.
Since the prohibition is categorical and absolute, there are no "limits" which may be implied. Much as with the prohibition on abridging the freedom of speech or infringing upon the right to keep and bear arms, the prohibition on religious laws is categorical. The whole corpus of such law is clearly and unambiguously in the "thou shalt not" column.