In a religiously-pluralistic society such as ours, although the Court has never defined "religion" as such, it has also never denied protection to any follower of any conventional religious denomination or creed. Here is how one scholar describes where the Court is on the definition of religion:
"For now, all we can say is that the constitutional definition of religion remains unsettled. It certainly includes conventional religion, as the Founders assumed it would. It might--or might not--also include a broader set of moral beliefs and practices that are not conventionally religious."
Should secular moral beliefs, such as environmentalism, egalitarianism, and feminism, be included as religions within the meaning of the First Amendment?
If "feminism" is a religious worldview within the meaning of the First Amendment, would the Establishment Clause forbid feminism from being endorsed in public schools and state universities? Some would argue that secular moral beliefs should be protected under the Free Exercise Clause as part of the "free exercise of Religion" but not subject to the restrictions of the Establishment Clause? But the word "religion" is used only once in the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof") so how could the exact same word mean one thing for Free Exercise and something else for Establishment?
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