The Supreme Court under Earl Warren adopted an expansive view of the Free Exercise Clause. In, Sherbert v. Verner (1963) the Court held that states must have a "compelling interest '' to refuse to accommodate religiously motivated conduct. The case involved Adele Sherbert, who was denied unemployment benefits by South Carolina because she refused to work on Saturdays, something forbidden by her Seventh - day Adventist faith. In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the Court ruled that a law that "unduly burdens the practice of religion '' without a compelling interest, even though it might be "neutral on its face, '' would be unconstitutional.
when can the free exercise of religion be limited
states must have a "compelling interest '' to refuse to accommodate religiously motivated conduct