Employment Division v. Smith

The Court held that neutral, generally applicable laws do not violate the Free Exercise Clause even when they burden religious practice.

Overview

Alfred Smith and Galen Black were fired from jobs at a private drug rehabilitation organization in Oregon for ingesting peyote at a Native American Church ceremony, and the state denied them unemployment benefits. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, held that the Free Exercise Clause does not require religious exemptions from valid laws of general applicability, abandoning the compelling interest test for such cases. The ruling drew criticism across the political spectrum, and Congress responded with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Smith remains controlling law, though several justices have called for it to be reconsidered.