Friend, should taxpayers be forced to fund religious education?

That was the question before the U.S. Supreme Court today as it heard oral arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue. I was there in person, along with several of AU’s lawyers, because the consequences of the court’s decision in this case could not be more crucial to the future of religious freedom.

In 2018, the Montana Supreme Court struck down the state’s entire private school voucher program as unconstitutional because residents should not be forced to pay for religious instruction. And that’s exactly what was happening: 94 percent of vouchers issued by Montana’s voucher program funded religious schools.

That’s why AU submitted a friend-of-the-court brief with 17 other religious freedom and civil rights organizations urging the Supreme Court to protect religious freedom and public education in this case.

Our lawyers are working hard to defend religious freedom, but we are facing the most conservative Supreme Court in a generation. Will you make a donation to our Legal Fund today to help us keep fighting?

The Supreme Court’s decision in this case could set a dangerous precedent, eroding church-state separation not just in Montana, but in all states with similar state constitutional religious freedom protections. That’s three-quarters of U.S. states.

It is unthinkable to imagine an America where taxpayers nationwide are forced to fund private religious schools that teach religious tenets and too many of which discriminate against students and families. But if this case is decided the wrong way, that could become the new normal.

Friend, I’m asking for your support as we continue our work in and out of the courtroom to protect religious freedom and public education.

Thank you for being a part of our movement.

To read more about Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue, please click here to read my op-ed in the Washington Post.

In solidarity,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO