KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ In what some are calling a landmark ruling for religious freedom, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided in favor of a Columbia, Mo., church that had been denied state assistance to improve its playground.
The high court's 7-2 ruling in a suit known as Trinity Lutheran of Columbia v. Comer undoes a Missouri constitutional ban on providing taxpayer-funded help to religious groups. Similar "no-aid" clauses exist in as many as 38 other state constitutions.
The court's ruling was released Monday morning.
Trinity Lutheran's preschool in 2012 applied for funds through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' scrap tire grant program, which offers grants to buy loose rubber crumbs for covering play areas and making them less hazardous. The church's playground at the time was covered with pea gravel.
Though the church's application ranked high in the state's assessment for qualification, the DNR declined to award grant money to Trinity Lutheran because of an 1875 state constitutional amendment preventing tax dollars to be used for church programs. The church argued that its preschool playground was not used for religious expression.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups advocating separation of church and state countered that government should not involve itself in programs that assist religious groups, even though church-related organizations can seek federal assistance for secular programs through the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The justices' ruling apparently nullifies a section of the Missouri Constitution that states that "no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect or denomination of religion."
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley issued a statement following the ruling:
"With today's ruling, the United States Supreme Court has made clear that the First Amendment does not permit government to discriminate against churches or religious organizations on the basis of faith," the statement said. "People of faith cannot be treated like second-class citizens. Governor Jay Nixon's administration was wrong to interpret Missouri's Constitution to require such unlawful discrimination."
