![]() ![]() In some churches, this practice is accompanied by drinking poison and other tests of faith. Most participants are not bitten, but some have died from snakebites. Church elders sometimes patrol the church to ensure the snakes do not go beyond certain boundaries. Snakes, typically rattlers, are passed among the congregants for handling. ![]() Snake handling as a religious ritual began in 1909 in Tennessee ![]() Practiced by a small fraction of rural charismatic Protestants, snake handling is often identified with the Church of God with Signs Following or other holiness churches. It has implications for the free exercise of religion clause of the First Amendment. Snake handling is one of the more curious religious rituals practiced in the United States. (AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) In this 1944 photo, members of the Church of God participate in the practice in Evarts, Kentucky. Some states have adopted laws prohibiting snake handling, which state courts have consistently upheld against First Amendment challenges as reasonably health and safety regulations. ![]() Snake handling is a religious ritual practiced by a small fraction of rural charismatic Protestants. ![]()
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