Washington – The U.S. Supreme Court, taking on a new church-state case, agreed to consider the constitutionality of an Arizona tax credit for donations to organizations that provide scholarships at private schools.
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The justices will review a federal appeals court decision that let a group of taxpayers press ahead with their challenge to the Arizona program, which has been in effect since 1997.
The taxpayers say the program uses religious organizations to award scholarships and lets those groups require that recipients enroll in sectarian schools.
The case gives the court a chance to refine, or perhaps broaden, a 2002 ruling that said tax-funded school vouchers are constitutional so long as parents have a “genuine choice” not to send their children to religious schools.
This is long overdue. Hopefully the court will draw a bright line and disallow any tax deductions for any voucher program or other subsidy that is focused exclusively on religious institutions. Too much public funds are being diverted in violation of the church state separation.
#1 is very likely a plant from the teachers unions, and should be promptly ignored. If we don’t respond to him, he will probably go away.
The court should for once and for all return the law to what the founders originally intended. As is in the 1st amendment ratified in December of 1791 of the constitution “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
Nothing in there mentions a “Separation of Church & State” They where only protecting against the establishment of a state religion – as in England! – To the exclusion of other religions!
The 1st documented mention of a “Wall of Separation” was in a letter that Jefferson wrote in in January of 1802, more the 10 years later!
It was the later Liberal progressive courts that added this “Wall of separation” idea to what they said was the intent of the law! However, if you read the original – quoted above, there is no way that the founders have this in mind!
Indeed, in everything they did they explicitly thanked G-d, and repeatedly stated that the U.S. was a gift of G-D (some even called it the “promised land”) “In G-d We Trust” is all over our currency.
What they did want was that everyone should have the freedom to worship G-D in their own way without any restrictions! Education support is ok! period
in nyc you can give a tax dedution in the form of a scholarship to a rabbinical college
I don’t understand. It’s certainly consitutional to deduct a donation to the school directly. So why should it not be if I essentially donate indirectly, which is what this is? Sounds like this is one of those kooky lower court decisions that the Supreme Court always overturns.