Question

1. Why did the Founders include the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses about religion in the First Amendment?

A. They opposed all forms of organized religion.
B. They wanted to adopt a state church like the one in Great Britain.
C. They believed that in order to have a democracy, all Americans should embrace the same religious values.
D. They wanted to prevent official government-sponsored churches.

2. How has the Supreme Court reshaped its interpretation of the Second Amendment?
A. It incorporated the Second Amendment into the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
B. It made it a crime to ship sawed-off shotguns across state lines without a federal license.
C. It upheld prohibitions against the possession of firearms by felons.
D. It protected the rights of each state to keep a militia.

Answer 1

1. D. They wanted to prevent official government-sponsored churches
2. C. It upheld prohibitions against the possession of firearms to felons

Answer 2

1. D. They wanted to prevent official government-sponsored churches.

The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a national religion and from denying the right to exercise one's religion. It was included in the 1rst Amendment in order to separate religion from the government and to prohibit the government from endorsing, supporting or sponsoring religious activities.

2. C. It upheld prohibitions against the possession of firearms by felons.

The Second Amendment consists of two parts: the prefatory clause, which states “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State”, and the operative clause that says “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed”. Through the years, the second clause has been the most controversial and debated in the Court. However, In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court interpreted that individuals could keep and bear arms for self-defense only and it should be kept in the home, that individuals could not carry dangerous and unusual weapons and it prohibited felons and the mentally ill from possessing firearms.