Religious freedom is guaranteed in the united states, but how does this first amendment right actually apply?

The first amendment to the Constitution has guaranteed Americans complete religious freedom, or at least the hope that the federal government won’t actively interfere with the practice of whatever faith you have chosen to follow.
But what happens when the government protects the wrong people? Certain groups actively promote hateful rhetoric and hide from criticism and taxation under the guise of being a religious institution; the Westboro Baptist Church, Klu Klux Klan based churches, and harmful cults come to mind.

We look at these hateful institutions and shake our heads in horror as to how they can be allowed to coexist with the rest of the relatively peaceful and highly diverse group of religions that are protected under the Stars and Stripes. Legal arguments typically state that banning or restricting these religions not only goes against first amendment rights, but also would establish a dangerous precedent for the limiting of all groups that could be potentially harmful to the United States government.

This argument, while highly frustrating for those who feel the brunt of hateful rhetoric or impact on local communities, also protects groups that might be unpopular with the government and popular with American citizens. However, it is even more critical to look at when the government does not do enough to protect the religious freedoms of Americans.

Especially in the last decade, Islamophobia has gripped the hearts of certain ignorant Americans. The wake of 9/11 left many questioning the group of over one billion Muslims instead of the select few who actually perpetrated the atrocity. Certain companies, like Abercrombie and Fitch have even attempted to interfere with the wearing of traditional clothing, such as hijabs (head-covering traditionally worn by some Muslim women). This issue has been brought to the Supreme Court as recently as this October in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, in which a Muslim woman was asked to remove her hijab during work hours.

Also, when a group of Muslims attempted to build a mosque in New York City close to the site of the Twin Towers in 2011, Americans caused a massive uproar. The $100 million dollar project was several blocks away from the 9/11 memorial, and would have housed a museum for Islamic art and spaces for prayer and religious exploration. The “Ground Zero Mosque” was quickly abandoned as critics shredded the development plans with phrases such as “un-American” being launched at the owners of the plot of land.

It’s easy to question the efficacy of the federal government when looking at the ways they fail to address the heinous demonstrations and words of religious institutions, such as the Westboro Baptist Church, who have actually won a Supreme Court case allowing them to protest at the funerals of soldiers. But these negative religious groups have the full hatred of the nation to make up for the lack of legal actions taken against them. Unfortunately legitimate and peaceful religious groups, such as Islam, come under fire by both the federal government and the people of the United States of America.