Perhaps the most ignored and misunderstood part of the 1st Amendment, even the whole damn Constitution. This concept derives from the establishment and free exercise clauses of the 1st Amendment.
The government CANNOT give preference to any religion, yet we still have "in God We Trust" on our currency, "One nation under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance, and legal marriage rights are dictated by the Church.
There may be no restrictions on religion.... well almost. Numerous
Supreme Court cases have allowed for some restrictions (no polygamy for mormons, no peyote use for some
native american religions, and no animal sacrifices for some religions, i guess) but these restrictions are for EVERYONE, not just against a particular group (so it's technically not
discrimination).
Essentially, people are free to BELIEVE what they want (even if they aren't allowed to PRACTICE their beliefs in some cases) and people are free FROM religion.
Thank God (Ironic? I think not) that there is such a thing as
Separation of Church and State. Imagine being forced to believe a certain way or being punished by law for believing something.
Marriage is both a legal and religious institution. WTF? Don't we have
separation of church and state?
Guess what? I believe that a giant
spaghetti monster sits on a throne of meatballs and laughs at all of humanity's follies. I can believe what I want.
