Maryland required officeholders to declare a belief in God until 1961

Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025) broadened parents' rights regarding what their children learn in public schools

The case, brought by parents in Maryland, focused on religious objections to books with same-sex and transgender characters in elementary classrooms. The court ruled that the district's denial of parents' opt-out requests violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

Reynolds v. United States (1878) established that religious belief is not a defense for a crime

In the first major Supreme Court case on the free exercise clause, the court ruled that the government cannot regulate religious belief, but it can regulate religious practice if it violates the law. The case arose from a Mormon man convicted of polygamy who argued his faith required it.

Every US state constitution references God or the divine, though the federal Constitution does not

God or the divine is mentioned at least once in all 50 state constitutions and nearly 200 times overall. Massachusetts has the most, with eight references, and four states do not use the word "God" but instead refer to a "Supreme Being" or "Divine Guidance."

'Under God' was added to the pledge in 1954 as an anti-communist statement

When President Eisenhower signed the phrase into law on Flag Day 1954, the intent was ideological: to distinguish American democracy from "godless" Soviet communism. The author of the original 1892 pledge, Francis Bellamy, was himself a Baptist minister who believed in the separation of church and state, making the addition an inversion of his intent.

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014) extended religious exemptions to family-owned corporations

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that family-owned companies could invoke the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to refuse contraception coverage required under the Affordable Care Act. It was the first time the court recognized that for-profit corporations could hold religious beliefs.

The First Amendment established religious freedom as a constitutional right—a safeguard no other nation had before

Europe had limited religious tolerance for centuries, but always as a privilege granted by rulers who could revoke it. The First Amendment in the United States was unique for the time: It banned the government from interfering with religion, making religious freedom a permanent constitutional limit on state power.

Madison argued that the government had no authority to regulate faith

James Madison viewed religion as a matter of individual conscience beyond the reach of the state, opposing government funding of churches and advancing a model of religious liberty based on noninterference rather than official toleration.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) created a 3-part test for church-state entanglement

In this case, the Supreme Court established a three-part test—requiring a secular purpose, no advancement of religion, and avoidance of excessive entanglement—for laws concerning the Establishment Clause. The test was later effectively sidelined in recent rulings.

In a letter, George Washington assured a Jewish congregation that the new government gives 'to bigotry no sanction'

In 1790, President Washington visited Newport's Touro Synagogue and received a welcoming letter from its warden. Washington's reply—considered his clearest statement on religious tolerance—assured the congregation that under the new government, religious freedom would be protected as a fundamental right.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

McCulloch v. Maryland upheld implied powers and blocked states from taxing the federal government

In 1819, McCulloch v. Maryland confirmed that Congress may use implied powers under the necessary and proper clause and ruled that states cannot tax federal institutions, reaffirming the supremacy of the federal government within its constitutionally delegated powers.

How religious is your state?

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey of religion across all 50 states and Washington, DC. This data visualization allows you to select any state to see how religious it is compared to the rest of the country.

Religion dominated many aspects of Colonial life and was enforced by the government

Eight of the 13 British Colonies in America had official, established churches, and laws mandated that everyone attend a house of worship and pay taxes that funded ministers' salaries.

France has a strict and explicit separation of church and state

France's principle of laïcité—strict separation of church and state—prohibits religious expression in public institutions, including the wearing of religious clothing and symbols in public schools and by government employees.

The Satanic Temple has protested the presence of the Ten Commandments at state capitols

After Oklahoma and Arkansas put up Ten Commandments monuments on their state capitol grounds, the Satanic Temple argued that if one religion's symbols are allowed, theirs should be, too. The temple asked for permission to install a bronze statue of the goat-headed figure Baphomet next to them.

Virginia's Declaration of Rights was a main inspiration for Madison's Bill of Rights

James Madison drew on Virginia's Declaration of Rights, written in 1776. The document affirmed freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and jury trials, and placed limits on government power—core protections that later appeared in the Bill of Rights.

More than 15 states have estate or inheritance taxes—but Maryland is the only state with both

Eighteen states, and Washington, DC, have estate or inheritance taxes in place. Tax rates and thresholds vary per state, but most are less than the federal estate tax rate and threshold. This means an estate doesn't have to be as lucrative to be subjected to the taxes.

Americans are divided over Christian prayer in public schools

A 2024 Pew survey found that over half (52%) of US adults favor allowing teachers in the public school system to lead their classes in prayers that mention Jesus, though results vary widely by state.

Why Thoreau considered himself spiritual but not religious

This interview with Richard Higgins, author of "Thoreau's God," unpacks the writer's deep spirituality, which underlies his exploration of "deliberate" living. Higgins notes that Thoreau was opposed to the dogma of organized religion but took his spirituality seriously, treating July 4, 1845, when he moved to Walden Pond, as his own "spiritual independence day."

All states did not require a unanimous jury verdict to convict until a 2020 Supreme Court case

In Ramos v. Louisiana, the court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimous jury verdicts to convict in criminal cases, overturning laws in Louisiana and Oregon that had allowed convictions with only 10 of 12 jurors in agreement.

Unitarian Frank Lloyd Wright made Unity Temple to honor his own faith

In 1905, a Unitarian church in Frank Lloyd Wright's town was struck by lightning and destroyed. Wright, a Unitarian himself, was commissioned to build the replacement and constructed a simple yet radical concrete sanctuary known as Unity Temple.

William Marbury was a wealthy Federalist insider

Marbury was a prosperous Georgetown businessman, bank director, and slaveholder with close ties to the Federalists. His appointment as a justice of the peace, which was never delivered, sparked the Marbury v. Madison case.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom monitors and reports on religious persecution

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal commission that tracks religious freedom conditions worldwide and provides policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress.

Germany's Constitutional Court can review laws without waiting for a specific case

The German court follows a model of "abstract judicial review"—meaning it can assess the constitutionality of legislation in the abstract, rather than only in concrete disputes. Its binding decisions apply to all German courts.

Watergate-era reforms restricted the power of the presidency

Watergate ushered in sweeping changes. Agencies were required to release information openly, officials had to disclose finances transparently, and new laws limited conflicts of interest. The reforms also established independent oversight of ethics and safeguarded presidential records, curbing abuse and boosting accountability.

Maryland required cholera researchers to fly a yellow warning flag—signifying quarantine dangers in the 1970s

University of Maryland Hospital researchers intentionally infected volunteers with the cholera bacterium in the late 1970s to further their understanding of the disease. They proceeded with this work following the recommendation of a US government panel. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography