Congress shall make no law, this actually could be interpreted quite literally by the courts that it is perfectly acceptable for a state to not only establish a religion but to criminalize other beliefs.
Reading one piece of the Constitution or the text of any specific statute is kind of useless in our legal system. Other parts of the Constitution, the laws, and the case law that’s been established over centuries and decades also have parts to play.
This particular legal situation has been argued before, and it’s very settled law (at least for now.) Specifically, the 14th Amendment has been viewed to expand many of the Constitutional provisions that originally only restrained Congress to apply to the state governments as well.
It’s most likely to be slapped down in district court, slapped down in the appellate court, and then declined by SCOTUS.
Reading one piece of the Constitution or the text of any specific statute is kind of useless in our legal system. Other parts of the Constitution, the laws, and the case law that’s been established over centuries and decades also have parts to play.
This particular legal situation has been argued before, and it’s very settled law (at least for now.) Specifically, the 14th Amendment has been viewed to expand many of the Constitutional provisions that originally only restrained Congress to apply to the state governments as well.
It’s most likely to be slapped down in district court, slapped down in the appellate court, and then declined by SCOTUS.