Atheists & Agnostics
Related: About this forumSupreme Courts Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer Decision
Washington, DC—Today, in a 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that churches and other houses of worship are entitled to state funding, undermining the foundation of the wall of separation between religion and government.
In Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the Court decided that the Missouri State Constitution’s no-aid clause was an unconstitutional burden on the church’s free exercise rights.
David Silverman, president of American Atheists, made the following statement:
“By striking down Missouri’s no-aid clause, the Court has opened Pandora’s Box. This case was about more than a playground. It was about whether unaccountable religious groups are entitled to receive taxpayer funding despite their complete lack of financial transparency. For the first time, this Court has decided that they are.
“Without the protection of these no-aid clauses, taxpayers are now being forced to directly subsidize religious denominations they do not support. That is fundamentally un-American and I am profoundly disappointed that the Court continues to erode the wall of separation between religion and government.
“We will continue to remain vigilant against any further attempts to direct taxpayer funding to churches and other houses of worship. Taken with the ongoing attempts to repeal the Johnson Amendment and turn churches into Super PACs, this decision represents a clear and profound threat to our democracy. We must demand full and equal accountability and transparency of all groups receiving tax-exempt status, including houses of worship.”
https://www.atheists.org/2017/06/american-atheists-profoundly-disappointed-supreme-courts-trinity-lutheran-church-v-comer-decision/

Dawson Leery
(19,424 posts)rurallib
(63,629 posts)with more and more money going to religious (mostly christian) organizations for any variety of reasons.
This will be one of the radical right's favorite ways to kill public institutions by giving public dollars to religious organizations - the current model for killing public schools.
Maybe I am a super pessimist, but oh this one could be bad.
Dawson Leery
(19,424 posts)The Christian Right has given up on converting the secular world. Instead they will install puppets like Trump and Gorsuch (court bastard) to dismantle the commons, sending our tax dollars to their churches instead. It is a back door to theocracy.
mountain grammy
(27,715 posts)This is a big decision.
Duppers
(28,324 posts)Starting with schools.
We must get a dem in office before everything is hijacked.
mountain grammy
(27,715 posts)Sotomayer wrote a long dissent. 27 pages.. bookmarked to read later.
https://www.atheists.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TrinityDecision.pdf