Getty Images For the second time in three years, the Supreme Court will grapple with two seemingly contradictory aspects of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees on religion, and how they apply to education. At issue, once again, are the dueling ideas that government may not establish a religion, but also cannot prohibit its free exercise. On one side of this case , Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue , are parents who benefited from a Montana tax-credit scholarship program that helped pay tuition for their children to attend Christian schools. They’re opposed by the state department of revenue, which invalidated the program based on a provision in the state constitution banning state aid to religious education. The Montana Supreme Court in December not only upheld the state revenue department’s decision to ban the use of tax-credit scholarships at religious schools, but invalidated the program entirely. It’s one of 38 states that has a Blaine Amendment, or “no-aid provision,” language in its state constitution blocking public support of parochial schools, which opponents say dates from an era of anti-Catholic bias. Oral arguments will be held Jan. 22. The U.S. government, which has filed a brief siding with the parents, has also […]
