1

First Amendment of U.S Constitution Vs. Texas Constitution

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor’s Name

Date
 2

First Amendment of U.S Constitution Vs. Texas Constitution

Freedom of religion guarantees all individuals the right to speak and act on their beliefs.

The First Amendment and the Texas constitution share some similarities and significant

differences. First, the “First amendment of the U.S Constitution” gives citizens the freedom of

expression, religion, assembly, and the right to petition (Beck, 1991). It prohibits the legislature

from favoring one religion more than the other and restricting one’s religious activities.

Additionally, it forbids Congress from restricting individuals' rights of expression and petitioning

the government. Similarly, “Article 1 section 6 of the Texas Constitution” guarantees all

individuals the right to worship God according to their will and forbids discrimination between

religious denominations (Thomas & Thomas, 1956). The constitution states that no person shall

be forced to attend or support any worship form if they are unwilling to. The major difference

between the two is that the first Amendment surrounds legal restrictions to Congress against

adopting any law with respect to the establishment of religion. In contrast, “Article 1 section 6 of

the Texas Constitution” generally talks about the freedom of worship. It does not issue any legal

restriction on the law-making bodies about adopting policies/ legal frameworks associated with

religion. From my point of view, the U.S Constitution offers more protection to the right of

worship/religion because it restricts powerful legislative bodies from enacting laws that may alter

the freedom of worship.

 3

References

Beck, J. M. (1991). The constitution of the United States.

Thomas Jr, A. J., & Thomas, A. V. W. (1956). Texas Constitution of 1876. Tex. L. Rev.,

35, 907.