Freedom of Religion
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.– The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Sean J. Young, legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, explains the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Masterpiece Cake case. Watch the video to hear his entire speech at the press conference that Georgia Equality held at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta on June 4, 2018.
As enshrined in the First Amendment, religious freedom includes two complementary protections: the right to religious belief and expression and a guarantee that the government neither prefers religion over non-religion nor favors particular faiths over others. These dual protections work hand in hand, allowing religious liberty to thrive and safeguarding both religion and government from the undue influences of the other.
From our foundational work on behalf of conscientious objectors to our historic defense of John T. Scopes during the infamous “Scopes Monkey Trial” of 1925, the ACLU has been the national leader in the struggle for religious freedom. Building on that near-century of work, the ACLU employs an integrated strategy of litigation, public education, and advocacy to protect religious liberty.
Legal
In the News
Press Releases
ACLU of Georgia Files Open Records Request on Islamophobic Training Materials and Communications
ACLU of Georgia Denounces Inflammatory, Hateful, And Potentially Unconstitutional “Training Course” Titled “Islam In America”
The ACLU of Georgia Calls Out Barrow County Sheriff’s Department for Rejecting the Applications of Muslims Asking to Attend Its Islamophobic Training
Press Statements
ACLU of Georgia Thanks Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police for Withdrawing its Approval of Islamophobic Training
ACLU of Georgia Statement on “Pray for Gaines” Event
News Articles
ACLU of Georgia Opposes Senate Bill 200, an Extreme, Dangerous, and Unnecessary Bill that Endangers Public Health and Safety
Planned prayer vigil moved from Gaines Elementary to church
Update: ACLU Says Prayer Vigil at Athens School Raises ‘Serious Concerns’
Calls for anti-discrimination law, religious protections follow ruling
ACLU Ga. calls police training course on Islam ‘inflammatory, hateful’
Sheriff de Barrow Llevó a Cabo Entrenamiento Controversial Sobre El Islam
Federal Prison Illegally Bans Christian Head Scarves for Visitors Like Me