How the First Amendment Protects Freedom of Religion and Speech? (Essay Sample)

How the First Amendment Protects Freedom of Religion and Speech?
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The first amendment's key idea protects the people from the government in preventing the practice of religion and expression. It prevents lawmakers to make laws that can deny the people the establishment of religion, the free exercise of religion, the right to criticize the government, press freedom, and the right to assembly and petition (U.S. Const. amend. I).
Freedom of Religion
The first amendment emphasizes two clauses concerning the freedom of religion, the establishment clause, and the free exercise clause. Under the establishment clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion (U.S. Const. amend. I).” This clause can be interpreted in many ways. The first interpretation is that the US government cannot establish a national religion in the United States (Edwards & Wattenberg, 2016).