Landmark Supreme Court Case · Freedom of religion
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
- Decided
- 1972
- Opinion
- Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
- Constitutional provisions
Facts of the case
Wisconsin required children to attend school until age 16. Amish parents, including Jonas Yoder, refused to send their children to high school after eighth grade. They believed that high school would expose their children to worldly values contrary to their faith and way of life. They were convicted and fined $5 each.
The constitutional question
Does a state's compulsory education law violate the Free Exercise rights of Amish parents who object to high school on religious grounds?
The decision
Yes. The state's interest in universal education did not outweigh the Amish parents' free exercise of religion and their traditional interest in their children's religious upbringing. Amish children could not be required to attend school past the eighth grade.
The Court's reasoning
The Amish had a long, sincere religious tradition. Their community's informal vocational training prepared children for life in that community, and the extra one or two years of formal schooling the state demanded added little.
Why it matters
It strengthened protection for religious practice against generally applicable laws and recognized parents' rights in their children's upbringing. Later, Employment Division v. Smith (1990) narrowed free exercise exemptions, and Congress responded with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993).