A Victory at SCOTUS for Religious Freedom

In Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer, the court ruled 7-2 that churches can't be treated differently than other charitable organizations when it comes to being eligible for benefits supporting community services that aren't explicitly religious.

The case is Trinity Lutheran ran a preschool in Missouri, and the church applied for a state grant that offered partial reimbursement for rubberizing the playground surfaces to make it safer. According to the criteria laid out by the state of Missouri, the church was an ideal candidate for the grant—it was ranked fifth out of 44 institutions that applied for the grants. But according to Missouri's state constitution, “no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, or denomination of religion.” (Some 37 states have similar prohibitions on aiding churches.) So-called “Blaine amendments” date back to the 19th century and have a history of being rooted in anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment.

The church’s legal team argued that since the making the playground safer was about public safety, not an explicitly religious matter, this was unfairly discriminatory. Particularly because attendance at the preschool was not limited to church members, and other kids in the community used the playground. “This religious exclusion wrongfully sends a message that some children are less worthy of protection simply because they enjoy recreation on a playground owned by a church," observed David Cortman of Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-religious liberty legal group that represented the church.