Persecution of Jehovahs Witnesses in the United States During the 1930s and 1940s, some US states passed laws that made it illegal for Jehovahs Witnesses to distribute their literature, and children of Jehovahs Witnesses in some states were banned from attending state schools. Mob violence against Jehovahs Witnesses was not uncommon, and some were murdered for their beliefs. Those responsible for these attacks were seldom prosecuted. After a drawn-out litigation process in state courts and lower federal courts, lawyers for Jehovahs Witnesses convinced the Supreme Court to issue a series of landmark First Amendment rulings that confirmed their right to be excused from military service and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The persecution of Jehovahs Witnesses for their refusal to salute the flag became known as the Flag-Salute Cases. Their refusal to salute the flag became considered as a test of the liberties for which the flag stands, namely the freedom to worship according to the dictates of ones own conscience. It was found that the United States, by making the flag salute compulsory in Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), was impinging upon the individuals right to worship as one chooses — a violation of the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause in the constitution. Justice Frankfurter, speaking in behalf of the 8-to-1 majority view against the Witnesses, stated that the interests of inculcating patriotism was of sufficient importance to justify a relatively minor infringement on religious belief.[73] The result of the ruling was a wave of persecution. Lillian Gobitas, the mother of the schoolchildren involved in the decision said, It was like open season on Jehovahs Witnesses. The American Civil Liberties Union reported that by the end of 1940, more than 1,500 Witnesses in the United States had been victimized in 335 separate attacks. Such attacks included beatings, being tarred and feathered, hanged, shot, maimed, and even castrated, as well as other acts of violence. As reports of these attacks against Jehovahs Witnesses continued, several justices changed their minds, and in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the Court declared that the state could not impinge on the First Amendment by compelling the observance of rituals. --Persecution of Jehovahs Witnesses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:15:39 +0000
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