On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a church/state case that could poke a large hole in the wall of separation between them.

It involves the Trinity Church of Columbia (Missouri). The church runs a Christian preschool and they wanted to renovate the playground. As it turns out, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has a special program offering money for just that reason. So the church applied for a grant in 2012.

There were 44 applicants that year, but the state only had cash to fund 14 of them and the church didn’t make the cut. Even though reports later came out that they ranked 5th out of the 44 applicants.

Program Director Sara Parker Pauley told church officials that the reason they were denied was that the state wasn’t allowed to give money to churches:

… after further review of applicable constitutional limitations, the department is unable to provide this financial assistance directly to the church as contemplated by the grant application. Please note that Article I, Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution specifically provides that “no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, section or denomination of religion.”

To no one’s surprise, the church felt this was an injustice and filed a lawsuit against the state. They said it was wrong for the state to deny its application just because they were religious. While there were some other technical problems with their case, the end result was that the lawsuit failed.

So the church filed an appeal… and that, too, was decided in favor of the state in May of 2015. Of course the state didn’t have to fund a church playground, the court said, just as the state wasn’t on the hook to fund the training of pastors. (More technically, the church lost its appeal on a 2-1 vote. And when they asked the entire Eighth Circuit to consider reviewing the case, the judges were split, 5-5, so the earlier decision stood.)

At the time, Americans United for Separation of Church and State was thrilled:

“The court made the correct decision,” said Alex J. Luchenitser, Americans United’s associate legal director. “Churches aren’t entitled to tap the public purse to pay for their projects.” Added AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, “Missouri’s Constitution does not discriminate against churches. It merely ensures that state government doesn’t spend taxpayer money on religion.”

But the church leaders and their lawyers argued that there was no compelling reason for the state to exclude churches from applying for an otherwise neutral program. This was a playground, after all, not a pastor training program.

“Trinity does not seek funding for an essentially religious endeavor where the state’s anti-establishment concerns may be heightened,” the church said in its petition to the court. “Trinity seeks a grant for a rubber pour-in-place playground surface where its children and those from the community play. Seeking to protect children from harm while they play tag and go down the slide is about as far from an ‘essentially religious endeavor’ as one can get.”

A couple of months ago, they asked the Supreme Court to consider their case. And that’s what the Court agreed to do this past Friday. Given the Court’s makeup, this is bad news waiting to happen.

Consider this: If the church wins this case, the ruling would essentially be saying that secular aspects of religious institutions could be funded with public money. So if Liberty University wanted to build a new gym on campus (that would, at least on paper, be open to the public), taxpayers could theoretically have to pay for it. If a church playground is deemed secular, then what about its other buildings that host more than just church services? What about lakes on the property that are used for baptisms but are said to be for the community. What’s the line between church space that’s used for religion and space that’s for “everyone” and therefore eligible for government-sponsored upgrades?

Bear in mind that Trinity’s preschool playground is still on their property. The kids who use it would still be subject to proselytizing in other, less direct ways. Why should the government give money to beautify a church, making it easier for the church to draw in new members. That’s an endorsement of religion, even if taxpayers aren’t funding religious programs.

If churches want access to taxpayer money, then churches should pay taxes. It’s that simple. They can’t have it both ways.

That’s what Americans United is arguing:

“Religious institutions have no right to demand aid and support from the taxpayers,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Houses of worship must rely on support given voluntarily by their members.”

Oral arguments in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc., v. Pauley have not yet been scheduled.

(Image via Shutterstock)



