Is a state law that allows tax credits for donations to scholarship programs unconstitutional if most of the recipients attend religious schools?
That’s the question the U.S. Supreme Court wrestled with Wednesday (Nov. 3), centered around an Arizona program where two of the largest scholarship groups require recipients to attend Catholic or evangelical schools.
Lawyers representing Arizona and the U.S. Department of Justice argued that the decision on where to use the scholarships is made by parents and students, not the government, and does not violate the First Amendment.
“Arizona’s tuition tax credit does not violate the Establishment Clause because it’s a neutral law that results in scholarship programs of private choice,” said Paula Bickett, Arizona’s chief counsel for civil appeals.
If, IF, the Court wanted to, it could be justified under that seldom used clause, the “free exercise” clause. As government becomes evermore pervasive it becomes less justifiable to favor the establishment clause unless one wants to drive religion out of everyday life.