Church and State

Case important to religious schools here and elsewhere

Arkansas’ neighbor to the north, the state of Missouri, decided awhile back to make school playgrounds safer for children and take care of a pressing environmental issue at the same time.

In 2012, the state started offering grants for schools to resurface their playgrounds with recycled tires. Children would have a softer surface, reducing cuts and scrapes from falls, and old tires would be put to good use rather than cluttering lots and landfills. Sounds like a win-win situation. But a snag developed. A religious school run by the Lutheran Church applied for a grant and was denied. It seems Missouri’s Constitution specially prohibits state funds from going to churches.

The church sued, claiming religious discrimination, and lost at trial and on appeal.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case. And what the court eventually does has important implications for Texarkana and around the country.

You see, this is the first test of church and state to come before the court since Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed. It’s his first full week on the court and, considering his previous rulings, many observers think things will turn out pretty well for the church.

The Supreme Court has already ruled that states can deny money to churches if the funds would go toward religious purpose. But are playgrounds “religious” simply because they are part of a church school? That’s the question.

If the court finds in the church’s favor, this could widen the door to more state money for church schools here and elsewhere—as long as the money is not used for religious instruction. Funds for recreation, health and safety programs, for example, might be okay. It might even strengthen the case for school vouchers. These are important questions in an age when school choice is in the forefront.

The ruling will also show more about what we can expect from Judge Gorsuch in the years to come.

So while this case about “old tires and new money” might not look all that important at first glance, it is.