NBC’s Supreme Court analyst says that “a clear majority” of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed inclined to rule in favor of a Missouri Lutheran church in a legal battle over whether state aid to renovate playgrounds should exclude ones owned by a religious school.
Based on their comments during courtroom argument, most of the justices appeared to favor the legal position of Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Missouri. It sued the state after it was denied money from a state program to help non-profits cover their gravel playgrounds with a rubber surface made from recycled tires. The church wanted to improve the playground at its preschool and daycare center.
The state rejected the application, citing a provision in the Missouri constitution that says “no money shall ever be taken from the treasury, directly or indirectly, in any of any church, sect, or denomination of religion.”