Reynolds v. United States

Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879), held that the practice of polygamy (plural marriage) for religious purposes is not protected by the First Amendment's free exercise of religion clause. Reynolds was also the first Supreme Court case to interpret the free exercise clause.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church after the Book of Mormon, was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. The church required the obedience of its members because it believed that God commissioned it to establish His kingdom on ...