The Supreme Court to consider whether states violate the Constitution if they prevent religious groups from receiving some state benefits.
to exclude a Lutheran church from a state program intended to help nonprofits cover their gravel playgrounds with safer rubber surfaces. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that blocking the church"from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution."
But Montana has said the disputed provision of its Constitution, adopted in 1889 and revised in 1972, was based on a concern that diverting money from public schools would tend to weaken the system in favor of schools established for private or religious purposes. The state told the Supreme Court in its briefs that the law reflects the view that"barring aid to religious institutions promotes religious freedom by preventing the government from using its leverage to dictate religious policy." What's more, the state said, it protects the rights of people who object to supporting a religion"in which they do not believe."The Supreme Court has never drawn a bright line between acceptable and prohibited public aid for religious programs.
Espinoza hopes the justices will rule that Montana's Supreme Court was wrong to strike down the entire scholarship program. "This whole case has hinged upon the discrimination against any parents who want to send their children to a religious school," she said.Pete Williams is an NBC News correspondent who covers the Justice Department and the Supreme Court, based in Washington.
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