Theocracy in America: Should Core First Amendment Values be Permanent?
Miriam Galston, 37 Hastings Const. L.Q. 65 (2009)
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Although ostensibly less sweeping than the earlier proposals of the Christian amendment movement, the recent efforts to constitutionalize the practices or beliefs of certain religious denominations could propel the United States toward theocracy in significant ways. Specifically, if ratified, some of these amendments will deny the free exercise of religion to those who do not share those beliefs by preventing them from acting in accordance with their own religious beliefs. Although the protection afforded by the religion clauses is not absolute, restricting it in the name of one population’s religious beliefs, rather than a compelling state interest, would be contrary to the nation’s longstanding commitment to freedom of conscience. Thus, on a theoretical level, the adoption of such amendments would redefine a core feature of the nation’s constitutional identity–namely, the conception of religious liberty embodied in the religion clauses of the First Amendment.
