Dr. Suess,
I believe that you are wrong on this. Governments in the US can and does regulate religious matters, especially when it interferes with the public good. Laws preventing ritual murder/sacrifice, polygamy, ritual peyote smoking, etc. are all valid and have been upheld by the courts. In Reynolds vs. the United States, the SCOTUS ruled:
“Congress was deprived of all legislative power over mere opinion, but was left free to reach actions which were in violation of social duties or subversive of good order”
In other words, the freedom to exercise your religion is NOT absolute. If you find an Amaleki tomorrow and kill him, you cannot then turn around and claim that New York’s laws against murder are unconstitutional because they interfere with the free exercise of your religion.
That being said, a public agency can certainly put a clause in a contract requiring the other party to obey all local laws. Based on your logic, a restaurant leasing space from the MTA can claim exemption from health laws based on freedom of religion and pass disease around to everyone. Obviously, that’s not the case.
The Wolf