Politics1 min read

Supreme Court hears religious freedom case centered on universal pre-K program

By · Via NPR · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The challenge focuses on Colorado's universal preschool initiative, which offers $6,300 per child each year funded through a state tobacco tax. Although numerous religious academies have enrolled, the Denver Archdiocese contends the state's sexual orientation and gender identity protections unconstitutionally bar schools that require families to adhere to Catholic beliefs. The outcome will test the limits of state nondiscrimination laws when public funding intersects with religious admission policies.

Key points

  • The lawsuit challenges whether faith-based schools receiving public funds can deny admiss…: The lawsuit challenges whether faith-based schools receiving public funds can deny admission to children of gay and transgender parents.
  • Colorado requires all participating private institutions to comply with state nondiscrimi…: Colorado requires all participating private institutions to comply with state nondiscrimination mandates regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • The case reflects the Supreme Court's broader shift toward shielding religious exercise a…: The case reflects the Supreme Court's broader shift toward shielding religious exercise against conflicting federal and state civil rights laws.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that pits the Catholic Church against taxpayer funded school programs for all 4-year-olds in Colorado. At issue is whether religious schools may refuse to admit the children of gay and trans parents in violation of a state law that bars discrimination.

The first line of the Bill of Rights says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." As early as the founding of this country, Thomas Jefferson described the clause as creating a "wall of separation between church and state."

The Supreme Court formally embraced that idea in the 1940s, making it the law of the land — until roughly 10 years ago. That's when the court's new conservative majority made an increasingly dramatic doctrinal U-turn, focusing not on the separation of church and state, but on that second clause in the First Amendment: protecting the free exercise of religion.

"It's literally the opposite of what the law was not that long ago. It is just a complete shift," says Michigan…

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