What does this phrase mean--Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,? ?

Question

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech

I am mainly interested in this part---or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,,,,what does this mean?

Answer 1

It means that the government cannot establish a church much like the Church of England. It has nothing to do with separation of church and state.

Answer 2

Many mistakenly interpet the Constitution to say "The Seperation of Church and State" Nowhere in the Constitution are these word present. They were in a letter to the Danbury Baptist from Thomas Jefferson in regard to a State sponsored church like the Church of England. This was written into the Constitution not to keep God out of the public square but to keep the State out of religion. The Framers stopped several times during the first Congress to have prayer and ask God for guidance.

Answer 3

It means that Congress is forbidden from either supporting or denying ANY religion, it doesn't matter if they agree with it or not.

Edit: Pretty much yes, that is what it says - provided it is not an illegal act such as human sacrific, child abuse etc...

Also keep in mind that a fair number of the founding father's were atheists and deists themselves.

Answer 4

While they cannot expressly prohibit how you worship, they can and do prohibit actions that are criminal. Human sacrifice, abuse to minors, drugs, etc.