The Lutheran pre-school before the Supreme Court

The Lutheran pre-school before the Supreme Court October 24, 2016

Once again, a congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is appearing before the Supreme Court in a religious liberty case.  First there was Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church successfully arguing that it should be able to define who its ministers are, without being subject to discrimination complaints.  Now, as we blogged about. Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Missouri, is arguing that its preschool should have not been denied a state grant to make its playground safer just because it is a religious institution.

There is a good story about the background of the Trinity pre-school case in the Kansas City Star, excerpted and linked after the jump.

From Rick Montgomery, Supreme Court case on Columbia church could have national implications | The Kansas City Star:

It started with pea gravel. Now it’s a lawsuit that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear to decide crucial questions about religion and government.

A Lutheran church in Columbia has challenged a Missouri decision denying a grant to its preschool, which sought to replace the gravel on its playground with softer, safer material.

To Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a candidate for governor, the case is about an unequivocal section in the state constitution that prevents tax dollars from being used to aid religious groups.

To Annette Kiehne, director of Trinity Lutheran Church’s Child Learning Center, the state’s refusal to help fund a safer playground is an unjustified deprival of a public service — especially given the church’s insistence that activity on the playground would not be religious in nature.

“They’re just kids playing,” she said Wednesday above the din of the preschoolers’ squeals.

And to the high court, the suit known as Trinity Lutheran of Columbia v. Pauley could mean recasting America’s legal stance on the separation of church and state.

Church-related organizations can seek federal assistance for secular programs through the White House’s Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. However, as many as 39 states have constitutional restrictions similar to Missouri’s when it comes to using public funds to benefit religious groups.

Justices earlier this year agreed to hear the case sometime during the term that began this month. But the hearing still hasn’t been scheduled, perhaps because a court seemingly eager to address arguments over religious freedoms would prefer that the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacancy be filled.

Meantime, Trinity Lutheran’s Kiehne wonders how youngsters swinging, sliding and spinning in a play space could have been excluded from a state program that cushions the ground with recycled tire scraps — based only on the preschool being run by a church.

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