The document discusses the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom and the conflict between individual religious practices and government regulation of health and safety. It specifically examines a case involving a church in Ohio that handled poisonous snakes and drank poison as part of their worship services. After media attention, the state legislature changed the law to ban these practices, seeing them as a health hazard. Members of the church argued this violated their religious freedom. The document then explores the complex relationship between religious freedom and government authority more broadly.

1. The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion