SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Issues

This case asks the Court to determine whether Wisconsin violates the Constitution’s First Amendment by denying a particular religious organization a tax exemption under Wisconsin’s unemployment compensation system. Catholic Charities argues that the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s interpretation and application of the statute to deny the organization an exemption violates the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. Specifically, Catholic Charities argues that the court’s decision violates the church’s autonomy, entangles the state in religious matters, and discriminates among religions for their church organizational structure and their distinct religious beliefs and practices. Wisconsin, on the other hand, maintains that the exemption and its interpretation effectuate no constitutional violations. Wisconsin argues that the exemption and the court’s interpretation do not infringe on the church’s autonomy, do not cause the state to become excessively entangled in religion, and do not discriminate among religions. This case directly calls for a balancing of church and state interests while also having implications for both charities and unemployment insurance on a large scale.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

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Issues

This case asks the Supreme Court to determine if a state can exclude religious schools from participating in its charter school program. The state of Oklahoma operates a charter school program to which St. Isidore, a Catholic institution, applied. The Oklahoma Virtual Charter School Board (the “Board”) granted St. Isidore’s application. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the state to revoke St. Isidore’s charter school contract because it is a religious school, and charter schools are public entities that must be nonsectarian under Oklahoma law. The Board contends that Oklahoma charter schools are not public entities engaged in state action, and thus the prohibition on sectarian charter schools violates its Free Exercise rights. Drummond contends that charter schools are public entities engaging in state action that a state can require to be nonsectarian without violating the Free Exercise Clause. This case touches upon important questions regarding the increasing prevalence of charter schools and their impact on equitable student achievement outcomes, as well as on protecting parental choice. 

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

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Issues

In this case, the Supreme Court will determine whether the Free Exercise or Equal Protection Clause requires Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources to grant a qualifying religious institution’s funding application if it would have otherwise received funding absent its religious status. Trinity Lutheran Church argues that the Department’s policy amounts to a violation of the Free Exercise Clause because it singles out and excludes religious institutions by conditioning a generally available public benefit based on religious status. Moreover, Trinity contends that the policy violates the Equal Protection Clause because the policy employs a suspect classification based on religion. In contrast, The Missouri DNR argues that the Free Exercise Clause only stops the government from prohibiting the free exercise of religion but does not require that the government provide funding to religious organizations. Secondly, it argues that the State’s policy only needs to meet a rational basis level of scrutiny, as all religious groups do not constitute, in themselves, a suspect classification. Furthermore, the DNR contends that the State’s policy serves legitimate, rational bases, such as a protection against perceived or actual governmental favoritism toward particular religious denominations. At stake are the governmental benefits available to religious organizations in a wide range of contexts and the potential for organizational discrimination against third parties.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

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