Over nine hundred people dead within five minutes and all done by one all-powerful cult leader. Unfortunately, that was the case for the members of Jim Jones's cult of Jonestown. Jonestown is a prime example of how a religious movement can turn into a cult in the matter of time, and how it can be difficult to protect people against. This is due in part to our general acceptance of most religious movements in accordance to the first amendment, but also due in our classification of what a cult is. "Cults" are just destructive religious movements and are still protected by the first amendment. But one can't help but wonder how many cults are getting away with doing terrible things under the guise of religious choice. It's hard to admit that there's …show more content…
However, the reason why we shouldn't allow a clause to protect individuals from religions is fairly complex, but crucial to understanding why just adding new qualifiers isn't necessary. Within the 1st amendment there is the freedom of religion, but within that comes two very important clauses - the Establishment Clause and the Free-exercise Clause. They are written as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" ("The Constitution of the United States," Amendment 1). The words in the amendment are indicative of the clause. The establishment clause already puts a careful line on how much government interference there is with religious establishments, however the free-exercise clause is critically important when discussion religious scrutiny in this paper. The law is absolute that congress can make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, however, this is often not followed. In Employment Division vs Smith (1990), it was decided that a government entity had to prove it had compelling interest if the generally applicable law infringed on religious beliefs, and that careful scrutiny would be made if fundamental rights were at stake. Often, this was wishy washy and especially hard to do when religious freedom cases can vary from things like religious beliefs interfering with work or animal ritual sacrifice, one issue having a clearer moral quandary than the other. It is important to consider that the element of "compelling interest" already does what a protection against cults would do, and although it is often in flux, it has done its job without putting any lives in
The Fist Amendment protects the freedom of religion; government is not allowed to make laws for a specific religion, or barring the free exercise of the religion (Frohnen, 349). Article six of the Constitution went against William Penn’s law, and prohibited any religious test being necessary to hold an office in government (Frohnen, 239). The Establishment Clause protects what Maddison was afraid of and makes it so that no religious establishment can be created by congress and no tax can be made to support a religion. This Clause helps to keep church and state separate in that no state can have an official religion and the government cannot have any preferences in supporting one religion over another (Todd, 10 September 2015). Another clause that was formed to protect Americans was the Free Exercise Clause, this keeps government from making any laws that regulate religious exercise. It provides individuals with the right to freely practice any religion of their choice. This clause protects religions from having the government enact laws that would specifically target them (Todd, 10 September
One of the protections offered in the Bill of rights is the free exercise of religion. The first amendment contained in the Bill of rights stated that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (Ginsberg, et al. 2015, P. 122). The freedom of religion is a great example of one of the protections contained in the bill of rights. The first amendment and the freedom of religion contain an establishment clause. This limit of governmental power puts a separation between the church and state. The Government, for instance, is not allowed to establish an official church and may not take sides among
America has been built on freedom throughout the years. Freedom to speak, freedom to choose, freedom to worship, and freedom to do just about anything you want within that of the law. America’s law has been designed to protect and preserve these freedoms. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. It assures citizens that the federal government shall not restrict freedom of worship. It specifically prohibits Congress from establishing an official, government supported church. Under The First Amendment, the federal government cannot require citizens to pay taxes to support a certain church, nor can people be prohibited from worshipping in any way they see fit. However, if a certain religion
Cults influence society in many ways. They shape people’s behaviors and emotions to get them to align with the cult’s beliefs and thoughts. The people that join cults are usually very insecure about themselves and want to be accepted by then group. Cults offer people acceptance, friendship, community, and family. These qualities often appeal to someone who feels the need to be accepted by others. Cults are groups that use tactics such as the foot in the door phenomenon, entrapment, and obedience to achieve the leader's ultimate desires as seen through the cults of Jonestown and Family International.
A little more than 35 years ago, a man named Jim Jones shocked the world when he led almost 1,000 of his followers in an act of mass suicide; amongst those dead were more than 270 children1. On November 18, 1978, Jones and his followers drank Kool-Aid laced with cyanide in what he had presented to them as a peaceful escape to injustices of this world. The Jonestown Massacre was an incredible tragedy that sent waves through the whole world. Though the event was tragic, scholars have used our knowledge of what happened in order to deepen our understanding of cults, religions, and how both can influence people’s decisions.
The first part of that amendment is the result of the Founding Fathers’ experience with the long history of religious strife in Europe such as the French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years’ War, and the Crusades. They realized that religious disagreement can be counterproductive and create setbacks in politics. It would be even worse if one religious group was favored. So, they ensured that the federal government cannot interfere in the citizen's personal
The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. This Amendment was created to protect the first United States citizens, who were escaping religious persecution and sought the right to freedom of religion and expression without government interference. The United States government is the first in world history to deliberately allow religious freedom. Though the First Amendment states that there should be some kind of separation between church and state, even the highest branches of the United States government use religion to hold citizens and or themselves accountable; thus, many people
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution founded the concrete belief that government and faith-based institutions must and will remain separate from one another. This section of the first amendment disavows the U.S. government to establish or sanction any system of organized faiths or religions upon the people or to outlaw or disgrace any systems of organized faiths as well. But the line discerning the legitimacy of a faith and the true extent of the government's power over faith-based organizations has only remained to become muddled over the past 240 years of its establishment. Over the years, the ideology and true intent of the founding fathers had remained in question, where some believe the amendment addresses to the general
“Prior to the 9/11 attack, the tragedy at Jonestown marked the single largest loss of U.S. civilian lives in a non-natural disaster”(Jonestown Massacre 2). Jim Jones, a cult leader of the Peoples Temple, was responsible for the loss of the 900+ people that died in Guyana on November 18, 1978. Before all of this Jim Jones was a normal man living a life as a preacher who preached against racism. Throughout his life he was very popular by “currying favor with public officials and the media, donated money to numerous charitable causes and delivered votes for various politicians at election times”(History Staff). Jim Jones was a cult leader that preached to 900+ people of the Peoples Temple, made hundreds of people commit suicide, and made history of the biggest loss of U.S. civilians before 9/11.
The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The Supreme Court has been inconsistent in the application of these sometimes conflicting requirements. At times, the Court takes a separationist position, erecting a solid wall between church and state, and at other times takes an accommodationist position, siding with an individual’s right to exercise their religious beliefs. Religious liberty under the First Amendment should not be limited to private individuals, but extended to corporations, and only when its application does not interfere with legitimate governmental interests. History shows that the Court has repeatedly found that constitutional rights extend to corporations. This controversial approach was recently seen in the Supreme Court case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014). Today, the Court continues to address this issue.
Every single person in the United States have the right to express their religion of preference or no religion at all, however him or her wants without offending anybody, and the best way to protect religion’s liberty was by keeping the government out if it and creating this First Amendment freedom of religion, to separate the church from the state.
Legal Issue: Does the Free Exercise Clause require an accommodation for religious motivated behavior in the face of a law that is burdening that behavior, unless there is a compelling state interest for the law and the law is the least restrictive means of advancing the CSI?
There are a number of religious practices have been around for thousands of years, that are now facing criticism for some out dated or dangerous practices. These groups feel it is important to keep traditions alive, which is justifiable. The government has no right to tell anyone how he or she is allowed to practice the religion that an individual chooses to be a part of. The first amendment even guarantees that the government will never restrict a person’s religious freedoms. If a man or woman feels closer to God by holding a rattle snake, why stop him? This is the land of the free, and any citizen should be allowed to practice their preferred religion, in the fashion is has always been done in. However, when someone religious believes starts hurting that person or other, then the government should take action to put an end to these traditions
Nine-hundred-nine people were killed in all, including over two-hundred children and babies. If anyone did not take the poison, they were shot. Four people from the whole cult survived (Bio.com Editors). There have been many cult attacks that target the general population of countries, states, or cities. The Japanese cult, Aum Shinrikyo, poisoned the Tokyo subway system with a deadly nerve gas, sarin, in 1995 (Ignatius).
The debate on religion in the public school is complicated by the fact that there are two clauses dealing with religion in the First Amendment (Warnick, 2012). The Establishment Clause, which disallows the establishment by the government of any particular religion, and the Free Exercise Clause, which prohibits the state from proscribing the practice of religion, are a source of