News – AP-National Religious freedom advocates are pleased and some secular groups alarmed following a Supreme Court ruling that states must give religious schools the same access to public funding that other private schools receive. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta). The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Tuesday, June 30, 2020 in Washington. The Supreme Court elated religious freedom advocates and alarmed secular groups with its Tuesday ruling on public funding for religious education, a decision whose long-term effect on the separation of church and state remains to be seen. In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the high court ruled 5-4 that states must give religious schools the same access to public funding that other private schools receive, preserving a Montana scholarship program that had largely benefited students at religious institutions. It prompted a jubilant reaction from the reelection campaign of President Donald Trump, who counts religious conservatives as a core part of his base. The campaign lauded the decision as “a victory for educational freedom,” underscoring its importance for a White House that often spotlights religious liberty. Sister Dale McDonald, public policy director for the National Catholic Education Association, said the ruling has the potential to stem nationwide enrollment […]
