The U.S. Supreme Court and Religious Liberty
Great news! On June 26th, U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 7-2 ruling in favor of religious liberty!
The High Court ruled in favor of a church in Missouri that sued the state after being denied taxpayer funds for a playground safety project because of a restriction that prohibited state taxpayer funding for religious institutions.
The case involves a Missouri preschool that was denied a state grant for rubberized playground surface material solely because it’s a church that runs the preschool.
Chief Justice John Roberts summed things up near the end of his majority opinion saying:
“The exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution… It cannot stand.”
Illinois Family Institute praises the decision as a great victory for all people of faith!
This ruling makes is clear that government bodies and public programs cannot and should not discriminate against Christian organizations merely because they are religious. The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the First Amendment right to freely exercise religious faith in the public square.
Christian organizations throughout the state of Illinois and across the country provide much-needed services to young students, senior citizens, the poor, addicted, and under-served. It’s wrong to treat them differently simply because their service is inspired by the Word of God or their love for Jesus Christ.
Christian Liberty vs. Special LGBTQIA “Rights”
The U.S. Supreme Court also announced they will take up the Masterpiece Cakes case out of Colorado. This case is about whether the government can punish people of faith for not participating in religious ceremonies with which they disagree.
Jack Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakes, had a complaint filed against him for not baking a cake for a so-called same-sex wedding ceremony. Phillips had provided countless services to other LGBTQ customers, but simply did not want to participate in a religious ceremony – a wedding – that violated his religious beliefs.
The government should not be punishing Christians who merely want to live and work by the dictates of their faith.
This is the first time the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case that will decide the conflict between protected class status for same-sex attraction, sexual behavior and religious freedom. Please pray that they will rule wisely in this case.
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