Religious Liberty Déjà Vu

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW72538609 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="none">In 2017, the</span> <a href= "https://www.breakpoint.org/another-win-for-freedom-of-religious-institutions/"> <span data-contrast="none">Supreme Court ruled</span></a> <span data-contrast="none">that to deny a church “an otherwise available public benefit on account of its religious status” is to violate the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution. In that case,</span> <a href= "https://www.breakpoint.org/breakpoint-supreme-court-victory-for-trinity-lutheran/?key=faceb"> <em><span data-contrast="none">Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer</span></em></a><em><span data-contrast= "none">,</span></em> <span data-contrast="none">a Missouri church that operated a licensed preschool and daycare facility, applied for state “funds for qualifying organizations to purchase recycled tires to resurface playgrounds.” </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">Trinity Lutheran met all the qualifications of the program, but the state informed them that a grant would violate a state constitutional provision that “no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, section or denomination of religion.” Trinity Lutheran sued, claiming that because of the Free Exercise clause in the First Amendment, a government benefit cannot be withheld</span> <em><span data-contrast= "none">solely</span></em> <span data-contrast="none">because of religion. In his majority decision, Chief Justice Roberts agreed, writing, “the exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution all the same, and cannot stand.” </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">The Trinity Lutheran case was only six years ago but, in a case of “those who