At the time of the writing of the 1A, none of the authors expected it to extend to protect Islam or Hindu or any of those religions. It meant, quite explicitly, that the federal government couldn't establish a church. The "religious test" clause was meant to excluded discrimination in the federal government based on which sect they belonged to of Christianity.
Some of the Jews had to write Jefferson to see if it extended to Jews and he said it did -- constrained by the states.
There were previous supreme court cases and previous laws in the US that specifically forbade Islam from our country, as it wasn't considered a religion.
The 14th Amendment made the 1A apply to all the states, which effectively banned state churches, but by that time none were left.
At the time of the writing of the 1A, none of the authors expected it to extend to protect Islam or Hindu or any of those religions. It meant, quite explicitly, that the federal government couldn't establish a church. The "religious test" clause was meant to excluded discrimination in the federal government based on which sect they belonged to of Christianity.
Some of the Jews had to write Jefferson to see if it extended to Jews and he said it did -- constrained by the states.
There were previous supreme court cases and previous laws in the US that specifically forbade Islam from our country, as it wasn't considered a religion.
The 14th Amendment made the 1A apply to all the states, which effectively banned state churches, but by that time none were left.