Written by Don Byrd
Following this morning’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, the Baptist Joint Committee’s General Counsel, Holly Hollman, who was in the courtroom, discussed the importance of the case and responded to the justices’ line of questioning, in a video posted below.
Here is an excerpt from her response:
What we witnessed through the questions of the justices today is the difficulty of protecting against government funding of religion if the state gives money to a church. Trinity Lutheran Church characterized the program as entirely secular because it paid for property improvements, specifically materials for the church playground. But as we know, churches aren’t secular, so it is not easily understood how this program does not do exactly what the Missouri Constitution was designed to prevent – that is, give tax support to religion.
The BJC also issued a press release responding to today’s proceeding.
Stay tuned for highlights and a recap of oral arguments. For more background on this case, including the BJC’s brief to the court supporting the State of Missouri’s position, see the Baptist Joint Committee’s Trinity Lutheran resource page.
