The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow on June 26 for the freedom of churches to participate in government programs with secular purposes. Seven of the high court’s nine justices agreed the state of Missouri violated a church’s right to exercise its faith freely by barring it from participating in a government-run, playground-resurfacing program. In its opinion, the court said excluding Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia “from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious” to the U.S. Constitution
Religious freedom advocates applauded the ruling. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), described the decision as “a triumph for religious freedom and a victory not just for this church, and not just for people of faith, but for all who believe American citizens should be treated equally by their government.”
The ruling in the church-state case from Missouri involved the state’s Scrap Tire Grant Program, which provides grants to non-profit organizations — minus church-affiliated ones — for safer, rubberized surfaces for children’s playgrounds. The state rejected the application of the Trinity Lutheran Church Learning Center from participation in the program because of its affiliation with the church.
“The express discrimination against religious exercise here is not the denial of a grant, but rather the refusal to allow the church — solely because it is a church — to compete with secular organizations for a grant,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.