The line between Church and State has become increasingly shaky as more court cases push for it to be blurred. On May 22, the Supreme Court, in a divided decision, wisely upheld the lower court’s ruling, affirming that religious charter schools are not permitted in the United States and reinforcing the clear separation between church and state. If the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, which would have become the first faith-based government funded school in the US, then that would set new precedents for the first amendment and expand educational choice. The United States needs to maintain a strong separation between church and state, and this Supreme Court case is the most recent example that this line is blurring, with the court ruling in a tie.
The case first gained attention in Oklahoma when St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School challenged whether it could qualify as a public charter school—allowing it to receive taxpayer funding like other public schools. In the oral hearing in late April, the school’s lawyers argued that it is discriminatory for them not to be allowed to be part of the charter system, calling for a case of “religious liberty”, says KRCG. This argument initially appeared to have the support of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices. However, all three liberal justices on the Supreme Court expressed skepticism for the funding of religious schools, with justice Elena Kagan voicing concerns about how many community members may feel coerced into spending tax dollars for religious purposes they may not agree with.
However, after hearing oral arguments on April 30 in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond—a case on whether tax dollars could fund religious charter schools—the Court ultimately issued a divided ruling that upheld the lower court’s decision. This was not a decision, and the Supreme Court did not release a statement. This tie is the result of yet another attack on the line between Church and State, further weakening it.
For this case, there were only eight of the nine justices present for the oral hearings, after Justice Amy Coney Barett recused herself because she knows someone in the case, and she would be biased. Because the court was divided 4-4, that automatically means they will affirm the original ruling made by the lower court. I believe that this is a logical decision to confirm the lower court’s ruling and think that it would blur the line between church and state too much; something the US doesn’t condone, and was ratified in the First Amendment of The Constitution.
The potential establishment of nonsecular charter schools is a foreign concept for the United States, and we need to keep it that way. The United States government established a separation between religion and government when the First Amendment and Bill of Rights were ratified, and it is crucial that we maintain this separation. This separation protects religious freedoms, and doesn’t coerce one group into practicing a religion they don’t agree with.