Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon, et al. v. Smith et al.

Decided April 17, 1990. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-1213 · 494 U.S. 872 (1990) · Cited 2,569 times

Holding

The Free Exercise Clause permits the State to prohibit sacramental peyote use and thus to deny unemployment benefits to persons discharged for such use.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• United States v. Lee · 455 U.S. 252 (1982)
• Bowen v. Roy · 476 U.S. 693 (1986)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n of Fla. · 480 U.S. 136 (1987)
• Hernandez v. Commissioner · 490 U.S. 680 (1989)
• Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Assn. · 485 U.S. 439 (1988)
• Braunfeld v. Brown · 366 U.S. 599 (1961)
• Gillette v. United States · 401 U.S. 437 (1971)
• Reynolds v. United States · 98 U.S. 145 (1879)
• Prince v. Massachusetts · 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
• United States v. Ballard · 322 U.S. 78 (1944)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz · 482 U.S. 342 (1987)
• Minersville School District v. Gobitis · 310 U.S. 586 (1940)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
• National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab · 489 U.S. 656 (1989)
• Presbyterian Church in US v. Mary Elizabeth Blue Hull Memorial Presbyterian Church · 393 U.S. 440 (1969)
• Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 492 U.S. 115 (1989)
• Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation v. Secretary of Labor · 471 U.S. 290 (1985)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)
• Palmore v. Sidoti · 466 U.S. 429 (1984)
• Goldman v. Weinberger · 475 U.S. 503 (1986)
• Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security · 489 U.S. 829 (1989)
• Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States · 394 U.S. 131 (1969)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Washington v. Davis · 426 U.S. 229 (1976)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)
• Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
• Mahmoud v. Taylor · 606 U.S. 522 (2025)
• Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n · 584 U.S. 617 (2018)
• Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União Do Vegetal · 546 U.S. 418 (2006)
• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 565 U.S. 171 (2012)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. · 501 U.S. 560 (1991)
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo · 592 U.S. 14 (2020)
• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)
• Christian Legal Soc. Chapter of Univ. of Cal., Hastings College of Law v. Martinez · 561 U.S. 661 (2010)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• Tennessee v. Lane · 541 U.S. 509 (2004)
• Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Village of Stratton · 536 U.S. 150 (2002)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• Locke v. Davey · 540 U.S. 712 (2004)
• Tanzin v. Tanvir · 592 U.S. 43 (2020)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School · 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
• Crawford v. Marion County Election Board · 553 U.S. 181 (2008)
• United States v. Sineneng-Smith · 590 U.S. 371 (2020)
• Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. · 501 U.S. 663 (1991)
• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Ramirez v. Collier · 595 U.S. 411 (2022)
• Wooden v. United States · 595 U.S. 360 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).