A church playground in Missouri won a closely watched case that it fought all the way to the Supreme Court. In 2012, Trinity Lutheran Church, in Columbia, Missouri, applied for a state grant to resurface its preschool playground, which would allow the church to receive reimbursement for using a safer rubber material made from recycled tires.
While the church ranked fifth out of 44 applicants, the state denied the grant, citing the Missouri state constitution’s establishment clause, generally referred to as “separation of church and state.” In a 7-2 ruling on June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court said Missouri was wrong to deny Trinity’s grant, reversing the decision of the Eighth Circuit Court, which had previously ruled in favor of the state.
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 Supreme Court is signaling in this decision that the government must stop its growing hostility towards religion and religious institutions, and that antiquated and anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments should not be used as a weapon to discriminate against people of faith,” said Maureen Ferguson, a policy advisor with The Catholic Association.