The High Court says that withholding funds from religious schools and institutions is discrimination.
The Supreme Court issued a handful of rulings on Tuesday, including the decision in Carson vs. Makin. In the 6-3 ruling, the majority decided that if a state provides educational subsidies that help parents send their children to private schools, the state “cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”
By withholding tuition assistance for religious schools, the Maine program violates the Constitution, the opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts stated.
“There is nothing neutral about Maine’s program,” the chief justice wrote, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. “The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools—so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion. A State’s antiestablishment interest does not justify enactments that exclude some members of the community from an otherwise generally available public benefit because of their religious exercise.”
The justices have not issued the decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi case that places restrictions on abortion. Based on a court draft that was leaked earlier this year, the decision in the Mississippi abortion ban case is expected to overturn the 1973 abortion case Roe v. Wade. The ruling is anticipated to come by either late June or early July.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the Supreme Court justices to uphold the law with impartiality.
- That the justices will seek God’s guidance as they deliberate cases that impact religious freedom and constitutional rights.
- For God to be at work in the hearts and minds of each justice in order that they may accomplish God’s will through their decisions.
Sources: The Supreme Court, ABC News, NBC News, Fox News, CNN
