Davis v Beason, Sheriff: 3 Feb 1890

United States Supreme Court. The defendant claimed that the First Amendment insulated from civil punishment certain practices inspired or motivated by religious beliefs.
Held: The assetion failed: ‘It was never intended or supposed that the amendment could be invoked as a protection against legislation for the punishment of acts inimical to the peace, good order, and morals of society.’ The Court adopted a strictly theistic definition of religion.

Judges:

Field J

Citations:

133 US 333 (1890), 33 L Ed 637, 10 SCt 299

Links:

Worldlii

Cited by:

CitedHodkin and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages SC 11-Dec-2013
The appellants sought to be married in their regular church in London. The minister would be pleased to perform the ceremony, but church to which they belonged was part of the Church of Scientology, and had been refused registration under the 1855 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

International, Ecclesiastical, Constitutional

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.540529