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Quotation from Reynolds v. United States by Supreme Court of the United States
“Can a man excuse his practices to the contrary because of his religious belief? To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself.”
Reynolds v. United States, Opinion of the Court (Waite, C.J.) (U.S. Reports text (Legal Information Institute))
Waite answers Reynolds's claim that religious duty excused his second marriage.
Citation: "Can a man excuse his practices to the contrary because of his religious belief? To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself." — Supreme Court of the United States, Reynolds v. United States, Opinion of the Court (Waite, C.J.) (U.S. Reports text (Legal Information Institute)). (id reynolds-v-united-states-q4)
Portrait: Chief Justice Morrison Waite, Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain.
