Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association

The case of Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (1988) centered on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Free Exercise Clause. The U.S. Forest Service planned to build a road through a sacred Native American religious site in the Six Rivers National Forest in California. Native American tribes argued that this would desecrate the site and interfere with their religious practices.

The Supreme Court ruled that the government does not need to grant religious exemptions from generally applicable laws that do not specifically target religion. The Court held that the road construction did not violate the Free Exercise Clause because it did not coerce individuals into violating their religious beliefs, nor did it penalize them for their beliefs. The decision affirmed that the government's actions were neutral and did not prohibit the free exercise of religion, even if they had an incidental negative impact on religious practices.12