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The U.S. Constitution contains an explicit right to freedom of religion in the 1st Amendment. But what does this right mean in practice? The answer is complicated. The courts have adopted evolving standards over time, highlighting the difficulty of translating abstract rights into practice.

Many countries have some form of national service where citizens perform duties for their country. Some of these programs are mandatory – such as military service in certain nations – while others are voluntary – such as educational and poverty-reduction initiatives. In either case, the goal of national service is to support the community and foster national unity. Despite widespread agreement over these abstract goals, there is disagreement over how national service programs should be designed and what types of civic outcomes they should prioritize.

The Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic liberties guaranteed by the first ten Amendments to the Constitution. These rights were not included in the original Constitution but were promised as a condition for ratification (at least four states said they would not ratify without these protections). In this brief, we discuss how these rights have evolved to cover actions by state and local governments.