On Jan. 22, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in a landmark case that could widen the door for state voucher programs and seriously damage religious liberty. In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue , the court is being asked to hold that the Free Exercise Clause requires a Montana tax credit program to aid religious schools. Even worse, some supporters of tax dollars for private religious education portray state protections for religious liberty as rank anti-religious bigotry. The case is about a Montana law that provided a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations that fund private schools. When the Montana Department of Revenue required the program to comply with the state’s constitution, which bans state aid to religion, parents of children in private religious schools sued, alleging religious discrimination. The Montana Supreme Court ultimately struck the whole program. Still, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and will consider whether and how states can avoid funding religious institutions without violating the federal Constitution. The principle that government should not fund religious activities or interfere in religious doctrine is deeply rooted in our country’s religious liberty tradition. It recognizes the distinctiveness of religion, […]
