Preamble
Humbly invoking the blessings of Almighty God, the people
of the State of
Article I, section
3a
Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged
because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. This amendment is
self-operative.
Article I, section
4
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification
to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded
from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he
acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.
Article I, section
5
No person shall be disqualified to give evidence in any of
the Courts of this State on account of his religious opinions, or for the want
of any religious belief, but all oaths or affirmations shall be administered in
the mode most binding upon the conscience, and shall be taken subject to the
pains and penalties of perjury.
Article I, section
6
All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship
Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. No man shall be
compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any
ministry against his consent. No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to
control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion, and
no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious society or mode of
worship. But it shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be
necessary to protect equally every religious denomination in the peaceable
enjoyment of its own mode of public worship.
Article I, section
7
No money shall be appropriated, or drawn from the Treasury
for the benefit of any sect, or religious society, theological or religious
seminary; nor shall property belonging to the State be appropriated for any such
purposes.
Article VIII, section
2
(a) All occupation taxes shall be equal and uniform upon
the same class of subjects within the limits of the authority levying the tax;
but the legislature may, by general laws, exempt from taxation public property
used for public purposes; actual places of religious worship, also any property
owned by a church or by a strictly religious society for the exclusive use as a
dwelling place for the ministry of such church or religious society, and which
yields no revenue whatever to such church or religious society; provided that
such exemption shall not extend to more property than is reasonably necessary
for a dwelling place and in no event more than one acre of land; any property
owned by a church or by a strictly religious society that owns an actual place
of religious worship if the property is owned for the purpose of expansion of
the place of religious worship or construction of a new place of religious
worship and the property yields no revenue whatever to the church or religious
society, provided that the legislature by general law may provide eligibility
limitations for the exemption and may impose sanctions related to the exemption
in furtherance of the taxation policy of this subsection; any property that is
owned by a church or by a strictly religious society and is leased by that
church or strictly religious society to a person for use as a school, as defined
by Section 11.21, Tax Code, or a successor statute, for educational purposes;
places of burial not held for private or corporate profit; solar or wind-powered
energy devices; all buildings used exclusively and owned by persons or
associations of persons for school purposes and the necessary furniture of all
schools and property used exclusively and reasonably necessary in conducting any
association engaged in promoting the religious, educational and physical
development of boys, girls, young men or young women operating under a State or
National organization of like character; also the endowment funds of such
institutions of learning and religion not used with a view to profit; and when
the same are invested in bonds or mortgages, or in land or other property which
has been and shall hereafter be bought in by such institutions under foreclosure
sales made to satisfy or protect such bonds or mortgages, that such exemption of
such land and property shall continue only for two years after the purchase of
the same at such sale by such institutions and no longer, and institutions
engaged primarily in public charitable functions, which may conduct auxiliary
activities to support those charitable functions; and all laws exempting
property from taxation other than the property mentioned in this Section shall
be null and void.