Jacob Braunfeld was an Orthodox Jew who owned a retail clothing store in Philadelphia.
His store was closed on Saturdays because that was his Sabbath, but Pennsylvania's blue
law required that his store also be closed on Sundays. Braunfeld believed this violated
his religious liberty because his store needed to be open six days to be economically
viable. Also, placing such a burden on Jewish store owners would hinder the faith's
gaining new adherents.
By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court declared Pennsylvania's blue laws constitutional.
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Majority Opinion: (Chief Justice Warren) |
An individual's freedom to act is not totally free from legislative restriction when the
activity violates important social duties or is subversive of good order (Reynolds<
/i> v. U.S.). The laws did not conflict with Braunfeld's religious duties, they
simply made it more expensive for him to fulfill his duties. Furthermore, not all
Orthodox Jews were inconvenienced by the laws- only those who wanted to work on Sundays.
No person is placed in the position of either forsaking his religious practice or facing
prosecution. The burden is only indirect. Because of the diversity of religions in the
country, it is impossible to not pass laws that inconvenience some of these groups. "If
the state regulates conduct by enacting a general law within its power, the purpose and
effect of which is to advance the state's secular goals, the statute is valid despite
its indirect burden on religious observances unless the state may accomplish its purpose
by means which do not impose such a burden." The state wants to make Sunday a day of
rest, and this goal cannot be met if individuals are permitted to chose their own day of
rest. If this is allowed, those people whose faiths allows them to work on Sundays will
have an economic advantage and the state will be placed in the position of having to
monitor each person's beliefs.
The state is not required to ensure that there are no inconveniences to religious people
as a result of specific laws. The diversity of religion that the constitution
encourages precludes the government from ensuring that there are no indirect burdens
from certain laws. Although the day of rest (Sunday) was selected because of a specific
religious tradition, the purpose of the day of rest is secular.
Copyright © The Religious Freedom Page.
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