Thurgood Marshall once said, “If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.” This quotation means that the First Amendment protects citizens of the country to do what he or she feel they can do as long it does not go against the law. The First Amendment can be defined by Dictionary.com, as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting Congress from interfering with freedom of religion, speech, assembly, or petition. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom and religion without the government’s inferences. The Supreme Court …show more content…
Freedom of speech and the right to expression can apply to ideas including some that can be offensive. Governments have obligation to prohibit speech. Many restrictions of freedom of speech and expression can be sent out in laws that need be understood to the people. Freedom of speech is allowed on morals, but any restrictions based on a tradition or religion cannot discriminate against anyone living in a particular country. Rights of reputation of others, freedom of speech on public officials should tolerate more criticism than private individuals. The media and journalists have freedom of speech, they take risks for the work they do. Countries have the responsibilities to protect their right of free speech. Restrictions on newspapers, TV stations can affect the rights of freedom of expression. Blasphemy, protecting religious beliefs of the people that believe in them is not grounded for restricting freedom of speech. Governments should never bring criminal proceeding against anyone who can reveal important information. Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights and one of the most …show more content…
This freedom is very significant because it is commonly generalized as a human right. The First Amendment allows citizens the freedom to worship any god they choose to, and without the governments interference. The liberties of this law are protected similar to any part of the amendment, but cannot be protected if they are taken to extreme measures and cause harm or endangerment to another person. Freedom of religion, american citizens are allowed to openly practice their beliefs and faiths without the interference of the government. When practicing a certain religion, it is the responsibility for everyone in the group to protect their rights as well as the rights of other religions, even if one can disagree with their beliefs. It is important that freedom of religion to be a necessity due to the fact that it can become a way of living ones daily life. People live there life based off of what their religion demands them to do everyday. For example, Hinduism can be defined the complex of beliefs, values, and customs comprising the dominant religion of India, characterized by the worship of many gods, including Brahma as supreme being, a caste system, belief in reincarnation. (Freedictionary.com) In Hinduism people start there day with
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “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.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.
Freedom of speech is the right of civilians to openly express their opinions without constant interference by the government. For the last few years, the limitations and regulations on freedom of speech have constantly increased. This right is limited by use of expression to provoke violence or illegal activities, libel and slander, obscene material, and proper setting. These limitations may appear to be justified, however who decides what is obscene and inappropriate or when it is the wrong time or place? To have so many limits and regulations on freedom of speech is somewhat unnecessary. It is understood that some things are not meant to be said in public due to terrorist attacks and other violent acts against our government, but everything should not be seen as a threat. Some people prefer to express themselves angrily or profanely, and as long as it causes no har...
Stanley Fish states in his essay “The Free-Speech Follies”, “The modern American version of crying wolf is crying First Amendment” (496). The First Amendment is made up of five basic freedoms given to the United States citizens that consist of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to hold a peaceful protest, freedom of press, and the right to protest. Within the Constitution there are no words that state the rights include for society to speak rudely to, or about, others. The article “Freedom of Speech” explains, “Slander consists of orally making and libel consists of publishing false statements that are damaging to the reputation of another” (1). People are allowed to have their own beliefs and opinions; however, they should not
The Bill of Rights includes several amendments describing the rights that people have as well as the things that are prohibited in our nation. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights states that “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 the redress of grievances.” This Amendment lists the five freedoms that all of the United States citizens have been given. (U.S. Const. amend. I)
The 1st amendment was put into play of the Bills of Rights in December 1791. It was placed to protect the freedoms of religion, speech, petition, and press. The freedom of speech is one of the protection clauses that people really enjoy the most. Although there are some certain limitations to the freedom of speech so some things do not carried away. The 1st amendment protects speech in so many ways that allow the people to speak up and voice their opinions or thoughts in ways that many would have thought was illegal or against the law. It allowed people to voice their opinions by in some circumstances by not speaking at all, use offensive words and phrases in political messages, and overall allow individuals to express themselves without the
Freedom of religion technically means that everyone has the choice of believing in whatever they want, and the government has no right to force anyone to accept, interfere, or worship any certain religion. Freedom of speech allows American citizens to speak out their opinion or thoughts, and have right of disagreeing with other judgments. Freedom of the press lets citizens to remain knowledgeable and updated on what is going on in government. Freedom of Assembly gives the opportunity to every American to join their interest of any kind of political parties or interest groups. Freedom to Petition gives permission to people to have the right of telling the government their personal opinion, complains, and what they are in the need of. Overall, these given freedoms play a big role in our society today and provides “The people” equality and fair life
There are many key points within the first amendment, regarding to the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and the right to petition. According to the First Amendment to the Constitution 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 (“Bill of rights transcript text,” 2012). The U.S. Constitution is a very powerful and breathing document that has three main functions, which is important for everyone to know how the constitution works. Firstly, it creates a national government consisting of a legislative,
The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect toward the freedom of religion. It also prevents the government from "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." Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been of the utmost importance to Americans.
The Constitution gives each of America’s citizens the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” by granting them civil liberties outlined with the Bill of Rights. One of the most important rights is the First Amendment: the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition. In general, however, it is simply known as freedom of religion. Within the First Amendment are two clauses concerning this particular freedom, the free exercise clause and the establishment clause.
The first amendment is the most important amendment in the United States Constitution. It gives great power and opportunity to the people of the United States. One of the main focuses drawn by the people is the ability to practice the religion that they so desire. The first amendment allows religion to exist due to the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. Both clauses are important and necessary for continous survival of religion. However, not all clauses are created equal. While many would argue that the free exercise clause holds a greater importance in the constitution, evidence suggests that the establishment clause is far more superior because it hinders a religion from dominating the country, it prevents the government from being biased, and it helps individuals who are not religious avoid being involved in the funding of religion as a whole.
The freedom of speech, the press, religion, peaceable assembly, and the ability to petition the government is the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights and is the amendment that you could never live without. This amendment allows me freedom to believe and practice my religion. Because I am Anglican, I worship in the ways of the Anglican Church and my prayers are words that my Church has used for 500 years. If there were a State religion, then it might be illegal for me to believe and worship as I do. This amendment is important: there is a baker in Colorado who would not bake a cake for a same-sex wedding because it is against his
The first amendment is the cornerstone of our American society founded years ago by our forefathers. Without the first amendment many ideas, beliefs, and groups could not exist today. The first amendment guaranteed the people of the United States the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition. Although the first amendment guarantees us, Americans the freedom of speech, we cannot use it to cause others harm. This amendment has helped shaped Americans into what we are today, because of our right to assemble, speak freely, and worship as we please.
The individual right to freedom of religion means that you can freely practice your religion without the government interfering. It’s in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, in the Constitution, it protects all U.S. citizens to a certain extent. The first amendment went into effect on December 15th, 1791. 1The first amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (American Civil Liberties Union). There are two clauses in the U.S. Constitution that guarantee freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause which prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion. There is also the Free Exercise Clause, it prohibits the government from interfering with someone’s practice of religion (LII). The first amendment also sets a fine line between states’ rights and the churches rights (Black,130). Throughout time, many things have happened to where the first amendment has had to been set into play.
The first amendment applies to every single citizen in the country, but most of them do not even know what it is about or what it means. The first amendment 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." In other words, the first amendment defends humans' rights to worship-or not worship- who ever they want, their right to express ideas and beliefs, and their right to unite and protest for what they believe right.
Religion is doctrine centered on belief and worship of a higher being. The First Amendment guarantee of Religious Freedom means all people have the right to choose any religion they desire; similarly all people have the right choose no religion at all. Each person is guaranteed this right without resistance or opposition from the government. The Amendment assures that the citizens will enjoy freedom from religion – that is, freedom from imposition by the government of any certain religious beliefs or practices. Likewise, the Amendment also guarantees that citizens will enjoy freedom of religion – the ability of each individual citizen to choose a religion based solely on their own beliefs.