ABSTRACT
In 1878 the US Supreme Court rendered its first significant decision regarding the scope of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, holding that a statute passed by Congress prohibiting polygamy did not infringe upon the religious liberty guaranteed by the Free Exercise Clause. At issue in Reynolds v. United States, 98 US 145 was the constitutionality of the statute prohibiting the practice of polygamy. Upon taking a second wife, George Reynolds, a practicing Mormon, was convicted of violating the antipolygamy statute. The Court noted that an individual's motivation for engaging in willful, illicit behavior was immaterial for purposes of assigning criminal responsibility. The Court in Reynolds seized an opportunity to rule on the scope of religious liberty guaranteed by the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Liberty to hold whatever religious beliefs one chooses exceeds the scope of congressional regulation and, therefore, is afforded absolute constitutional protection.
