On Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided Carson v. Makin. In its compelling decision , the court struck another significant blow for equal government treatment of religion. The case concerned a Maine program that provides education to students in (mostly rural) areas that don’t have secondary schools. Among the educational options, students can attend private schools with the state footing the tuition bill. That is, the state will pay so long as the students’ parents choose a "nonsectarian" school. No religious institutions qualify. The court considered whether this program violated the First Amendment ‘s Free Exercise Clause: "Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]." By a 6-3 vote, the justices determined it did violate the clause. They saw a clear path to this conclusion based on recent precedents. In cases from 2017 and 2020, the Supreme Court had concluded that when the government offered a benefit to private persons or groups, it could not exclude others based on religious status. It understood the Free Exercise Clause to require the government to treat religious persons and groups equally with their secular counterparts. Otherwise, the government placed a burden on persons because of their religious beliefs and […]
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