Missouri Amendment 2, Public Prayer and Public School Students’ Religious Expressions Measure (August 2012)

Missouri Amendment 2
Election date August 7, 2012
Topic Constitutional rights and Religion in public schools
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Missouri Amendment 2 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Missouri on August 7, 2012. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to: provide that people have a "right to pray individually or corporately in a private or public setting;" provide that public school students can express their religious beliefs in written and oral assignments "free from discrimination based on the religious content of their work;" provide that public school students cannot be "compelled to perform or participate in academic assignments or educational presentations that violate his or her religious beliefs;" provide that public school students have a "right to free exercise of religious expression without interference;" and require public schools to display the text of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights, among other provisions.

A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment regarding the state constitutional religious rights of citizens and public school students.

Election results

Missouri Amendment 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		780,567	82.76%
No		162,631	17.24%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Amendment 2 was as follows:

“

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure: That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed; That school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools; and That all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. It is estimated this proposal will result in little or no costs or savings for state and local governmental entities.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to provide that neither the state nor political subdivisions shall establish any official religion. The amendment further provides that a citizen's right to express their religious beliefs regardless of their religion shall not be infringed and that the right to worship includes prayer in private or public settings, on government premises, on public property, and in all public schools. The amendment also requires public schools to display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. A "no" vote will not change the current constitutional provisions protecting freedom of religion. If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Constitutional changes

See also: Article I, Missouri Constitution

The ballot measure repealed and replaced Section 5 of Article I of the Missouri Constitution. The following underlined language was added and struck-through language was deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no person shall, on account of his religious persuasion or belief, be rendered ineligible to any public office or trust or profit in this state, be disqualified from testifying or serving as a juror, or be molested in his person or estate; but this section shall not be construed to excuse acts of licentiousness, nor to justify practices inconsistent with the good order, peace or safety of the state, or with the rights of others.

That all men and women have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no person shall, on account of his or her religious persuasion or belief, be rendered ineligible to any public office or trust or profit in this state, be disqualified from testifying or serving as a juror, or be molested in his or her person or estate; that to secure a citizen's right to acknowledge Almighty God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience, neither the state nor any of its political subdivisions shall establish any official religion, nor shall a citizen's right to pray or express his or her religious beliefs be infringed; that the state shall not coerce any person to participate in any prayer or other religious activity, but shall ensure that any person shall have the right to pray individually or corporately in a private or public setting so long as such prayer does not result in disturbance of the peace or disruption of a public meeting or assembly; that citizens as well as elected officials and employees of the state of Missouri and its political subdivisions shall have the right to pray on government premises and public property so long as such prayers abide within the same parameters placed upon any other free speech under similar circumstances; that the General Assembly and the governing bodies of political subdivisions may extend to ministers, clergypersons, and other individuals the privilege to offer invocations or other prayers at meetings or sessions of the General Assembly or governing bodies; that students may express their beliefs about religion in written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their work; that no student shall be compelled to perform or participate in academic assignments or educational presentations that violate his or her religious beliefs; that the state shall ensure public school students their right to free exercise of religious expression without interference, as long as such prayer or other expression is private and voluntary, whether individually or corporately, and in a manner that is not disruptive and as long as such prayers or expressions abide within the same parameters placed upon any other free speech under similar circumstances; and, to emphasize the right to free exercise of religious expression, that all free public schools receiving state appropriations shall display, in a conspicuous and legible manner, the text of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States; but this section shall not be construed to expand the rights of prisoners in state or local custody beyond those afforded by the laws of the United States, excuse acts of licentiousness, nor to justify practices inconsistent with the good order, peace or safety of the state, or with the rights of others.

Background

From 1926 to 2024, voters decided on at least nine ballot measures related to religion in public schools in nine states: California (1926), North Dakota (1948), Maryland (1970), Florida (1972), Massachusetts (1972), Wisconsin (1972), West Virginia (1984), Missouri (2012), and Alabama (2018).

The following map illustrates where voters have decided on ballot measures related to religion in public schools:

Path to the ballot

Amending the Missouri Constitution

See also: Amending the Missouri Constitution

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Missouri General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 82 votes in the Missouri House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Missouri State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

House Joint Resolution 2

The constitutional amendment was introduced into the Missouri State Legislature as House Joint Resolution 2. On March 10, 2011, the Missouri House of Representatives voted 126-30 to pass the resolution. On May 10, 2011, the Missouri Senate voted 34-0.

See also

2012 Measures

• 2012 Measures
• Constitutional rights on the ballot
• Religion-related policy on the ballot
• Religion in public schools on the ballot
• 2012 legislative sessions

Missouri

• Missouri ballot measures
• Missouri ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls