Berkley Center

Cantwell v. Connecticut is significant because it was the first case in which the Supreme Court applied the Free Exercise Clause to the states. This case involved a challenge to a state statute prohibiting the solicitation of money for religious, charitable, or philanthropic causes without approval of the secretary of public welfare. Several Jehovah’s Witnesses brought suit challenging the law after they were convicted of soliciting for funds without approval in violation of the statute. The Supreme Court struck down the law on the grounds that it constituted a prior restraint on the free exercise of religion. The state contended that the statute was not a prior restraint, but merely a safeguard against frauds committed in the name of religion. Under the law, the secretary was charged with determining whether or not the proposed solicitation was for a valid religious purpose; if he decided the cause was not truly religious, he refused to issue a permit, thus making the proposed solicitation illegal. The Court noted that a general regulation of solicitation, which contains no religious test and does not unreasonably obstruct the collection of funds, does not violate the constitution even if the collection is done for a religious purpose. However, because this statute specifically targeted solicitation for religious purposes and involved a prior restraint on a religious group’s ability to collect funds for its survival, the Court held that the statute violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.