y not interfere with organized or individual expression of belief or disbelief." This clearly gives the impression that he may have had some doubt as to the legitimacy of the school's requirement to make all children salute the flag as a condition for enrollment. Throughout his opinion it appears as if Frankfurter is struggling with this decision.
Several times he will argue that religion does need to be protected by the government, yet, he will also argue in favor of the school district and their promotion of nationalism, citing that he felt it necessary for the district to promote the flag salute because of its ability to incite "national cohesion." He states, Awe live by symbols. The flag the symbol of our national unit, transcending all internal differences however large, within the framework of our Constitution. Besides this argument, Justice Frankfurter further believes that is would be wrong to force the school district to drop this requirement for the Jehovah's Witnesses because it may in turn weaken the effect of the exercise for the other children. After a lengthy opinion, Justice Frankfurter does uphold the requirement placed by the Minersville school district, stating strongly its necessity for national cohesion.
His opinion seems to suggest that he is willing to suspend the protections of the First Amendment because of his strong belief in the necessity for nationalism; through his opinion he is arguing for a national religion, for all people. Frankfurter states, "The ultimate foundation of a free society is the binding tie of cohesive sentiment."
Finding legal agreement with Justice Frankfurter is no easy task, considering that his decision was completely overturned three years later in Virginia v. Barnette. The Supreme Court's 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith demonstrated a break with most past free exercise theory, holding enforceable laws not intended to burden religious activit...