Evolution of the First Amendment

First Amendment to the Constitution, religion clauses: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” That language can seem a little confusing to modern ears. What did they mean by "...respecting the establishment of religion..."? It might be helpful to see the slightly different wording in the various drafts.

Madison’s first draft was “The civil right of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed. No state shall violate the equal rights of conscience …”

The House’s draft modified the wording as “no religion shall be established by law, nor shall the equal rights of conscience be abridged.”

Madison was asked about the broad language and said it meant that “Congress should not establish a religion, enforce the legal observation of it by law, nor compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience.”

The Congress again modified it to read “Congress shall make no law establishing religion, or to prevent the free exercise thereof, nor to infringe the rights of conscience.”

Then the Senate worked up their own version, intending to limit the exclusion to a nationally-established church: “Congress shall make no law establishing articles of faith or a mode of worship, or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.”