The Mormon Cases

Because the First Amendment originally applied only to the federal government, early American history saw few instances of free exercise or establishment challenges under the federal constitution.  The most prominent example emerged at the end of the nineteenth century with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Mormon Cases draw a sharp distinction between religious belief and religious acts. Does this distinction make sense—does the Free Exercise Clause merely protect the right to believe certain things?

The Mormon Cases also require us to acknowledge that religious persecution is part of American history. Davis v. Beason sustains a voting ban on polygamists (and those who advocate polygamy), and Late Corporation validates Congress’s dissolution of the Mormon Church and allows its property to be seized.

After these were decided, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints changed its doctrine. Does this suggest that the government shouldn’t make exemptions at all, because religious people will eventually back down if enough pressure is applied?

Some other questions to consider:

  • Once you start down the path of persecution, is there a logical stopping point?

  • How should the government handle threats to its own safety? Was the Supreme Court right to see a threat in polygamy specifically, or in the Mormons more generally?

  • Is it possible to square continued prohibition against polygamy with modern cases on sexual privacy or gay marriage?

Reading Assignment:

  • Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878)

  • Davis v. Beason, 133 U.S. 333 (1890)

  • Late Corporation of the Church of Latter-Day Saints v. United States, 136 U.S. 1 (1890)

  • Frederick Gedicks, The Integrity of Survival, 42 DePaul L. Rev. 167 (1992)

Other Information:

  • Mormons account for over 60% of Utah’s 3.1 million residents.

  • In 2020, Utah effectively decriminalized bigamy. Formerly a third-degree felony, the new law makes it an infraction, “putting the offense on par with getting a traffic ticket.”

  • Several decades after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints abandoned polygamy, a small segment broke away and formed the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). The current leader and prophet of the controversial FLDS is Warren Jeffs, who has been imprisoned since 2006.