Exercise Clause. In these "flag salute" cases, the Court had initially ruled that the children of Jehovah's Witnesses could not be excused from saluting the American flag on religious grounds. But in 1943 only three years later a new case arose where the seven children of Barnett, also a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, were expelled from the school for not saluting the flag. Since the Court's decision rested upon the "the free speech clause" it protects anyone who refuses to salute the flag for whatever reason.There always will be a misdemeanor in how the Courts come about with a decision to a case concerning religion. There are many factors to take into consideration when passing judgement. The Courts also needs to pass a judgement, which doesn't violate either of the religious clauses in the First Amendment. This is the reason why Courts find it very necessary to rely on previous cases and pass judgement from them. In some cases this not a very wise step to take because the previous cases may be violating others of the Constitution, which were over looked. Additional Court Cases:Minersville v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940) - Supreme Court rules that a public school may require students to salute the flag and pledge allegiance even if it violates their religious scruples.West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) - Court overturns Gobitis but is broader in its scope. No one can be forced to salute the flag or say the pledge of allegiance if it violates the individual conscience.McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948) - Court finds religious instruction in public schools a violation of the establishment clause and therefore unconstitutional.Zorach v. Clausen, 343 U.S. 306 (1952) - Court finds that release time from public school classes for religious instruction does not violate the establishment clause.Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968) - Court says the state cannot ban the teaching ...
