Is it technically illegal for people under 21 to purchase and/or consume alcohol, even if it’s part of a religious observance (even if in the presence of their parents)? If so, have there ever been any prosecutions based on this, either of the minors, or of their parents for allowing the conduct? What was the result?
Wouldn’t there be a First Amendment issue? Say you’re living away from home, at school or whatever, and you want to buy a bottle of Manischewitz for Friday night candle-lighting in your dorm? I know most people skirt the issue by having someone over 21 buy for them, but could, say, a rabbi technically be prosecuted for serving alcohol to minors at Shabbat services? Conversely, has there ever been a lawsuit filed against a governmental authority for refusing to allow the sale of alcohol for religious purposes to minors? Personally, I find it mind-blowing that you can get married or be drafted, not to mention create a new human being, before you’re old enough to buy a beer.
Just curious, from someone who graduated college before she was old enough to go out and have a drink to celebrate…
There has usually been special dispensation for religious services. During prohibition, wine continued to be used in both Christian and Jewish religous services, quite legally, after a special permit was issued. Mogen David and Christian Brothers both continued in operation by providing wine for these purposes.
The 21 drinking age is a state law, rather than Federal, so interpretation may differ from state to state. But I doubt that any state authority is interested in busting underage drinkers at a bonafide religous ceremony, whether the state law makes provision for it or not.
Not necessarily. In Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individuals’ rights under the free exercise clause were not violated when the State of Oregon refused to pay them unemployment compensation after they had been fired from a drug rehab clinic for use of peyote, which they said was part of their religious practices.
Congress tried to overturn this decision by passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, P. Law No. 103-141, which said the “Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.”
This statute, however, was struck down in City of Boerne v. Flores on the basis that Congress did not have the power to impose this rule on state governments.
Could a state legislature pass a law that prohibited parents from giving their underage children alcohol in conjunction with a religious ceremony without violating the free exercise clause? Eh … probably (my opinion). But the thing is that most state legislatures would most likely not be interested in passing such a law. My guess is that if you look up the statute in most states, there will be an exception for religious use.
Could the state prohibit an underage person from purchasing alcohol for his or her own use in a religious ceremony? Almost definitely.
Two very different circumstances here. In the first case, it’s a bunch of minors consuming alcohol without supervision. Big Problem. In the second, it’s a member of the clergy, presumably with in loco parentis authority/responsibility, overseeing the ceremony and the dispensation of the wine. No Problem.
I think the state would likely have an overriding interest in public safety to say to the kids in the first case, “go find some adult sponsors for your Shabbat ceremony–preferably a member of the clergy.” Rights infringed? Only mildly. Finidng an alternative to the first case would likely never be judged a serious burden.