Barnes v. First Parish in Falmouth

6 Mass. 400 (1810)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Barnes v. First Parish in Falmouth

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
6 Mass. 400 (1810)

  • Written by Elizabeth Yingling, JD

Facts

Massachusetts adopted the Protestant religion as part of its constitution because of the moral code Christianity implemented, which it believed would improve the relationships among its citizens and secure their happiness. The Massachusetts constitution provided that a majority of parish residents who belonged to an incorporated church had the right and duty to elect and financially support, with taxpayer money, a Protestant religious teacher. The constitution also provided that a taxpayer could direct that his taxes for public worship be directed to support the elected teacher from the incorporated church he attended. In addition, the constitution protected the rights of citizens to belong to any religion, including non-Protestant religions, without government interference. Barnes (plaintiff) was a non-Protestant religious teacher for an unincorporated church in the First Parish in Falmouth, Massachusetts (Falmouth parish) (defendant). Residents of Falmouth parish who attended Barnes’s church directed that their taxes be directed to support Barnes. Barnes sued to recover those taxes. The district court dismissed the case because Barnes was not an elected Protestant teacher from an incorporated church as required by the constitution. Barnes appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Parsons, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Religion

Key Terms