More great news from the Supreme Court today as they ruled that, basically, a state cannot deny grant funds to a church simply because it is a church:

SCOTUS holds that state cannot deny church a public benefit (here, aid for a playground) because of its religious status.

Here’s more:

DC EXAMINER – The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Missouri’s decision to prevent a church-operated daycare and preschool from receiving funding from a state program was unconstitutional.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the Supreme Court’s 7-2 opinion, which reversed the federal appeals court’s ruling and sent the case back to the lower court for additional proceedings.

The dispute in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer involved a state program that provided funding to nonprofits to resurface playgrounds, which ran into conflict with a provision of the Missouri Constitution that blocks public funds from directly or indirectly assisting any church, sect or religion.

“The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has not subjected anyone to chains or torture on account of religion. And the result of the state’s policy is nothing so dramatic as the denial of political office,” Roberts wrote in the high court’s opinion. “The consequence is in all likelihood, a few extra scraped knees. But 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.”

The Supreme Court’s resolution of the case could have widespread implications for the nearly 40 other states in their constitutions similar to Missouri’s provision. In advance of the court’s opinion, several right-leaning groups detailed the stakes that advocates for school choice and religious liberty would win if Trinity Lutheran prevailed.

“If Trinity Lutheran wins, that could be a real benefit to supporters of school choice, to those who are trying to make sure that all schools — whether religious or secular — have a chance to participate in voucher programs or school choice programs,” said Richard W. Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, in a video detailing the case.