-Ray Vensel
The myth that the United States is a Christian nation is both false and a clear and present danger to the country. Among other things, it’s a threat to the strict separation of state and church.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa have been seeking to establish St. Isidore as the first religious, taxpayer-funded public charter school. Charter schools are public schools that get the same funding as traditional public schools and must abide by the same rules. St. Isidore’s school materials say “admission assumes the student and family willingness to adhere with respect to the beliefs, expectations, policies, and procedures of the school.” Students are also required to attend Catholic Mass and “support the [religious] mission of the School.”
St. Isidore’s would not only teach religion, but it would also make faith-based decisions that are illegal for public institutions and would claim free exercise rights to do so.
In a 2020 paper, Notre Dame law professor Nicole Garnett, former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas and current head of the Clerkship Committee, argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling (that states may not exclude religious schools when offering subsidies or funding for private education) would require states to allow public charter schools that are religious in nature. The archdiocese must have seen it. In 2021, they asked Garnett for help. She offered the Religious Liberty Clinic at Notre Dame’s law school. The church had other help as well.
Two days before the virtual charter school board vote on St. Isidore’s application, Oklahoma’s Republican House speaker replaced a board member who was against the proposal with someone who cast the deciding vote to ratify the school.
The ACLU and other groups sued, asking that the approval be rescinded. They argued that tax dollars should not go to a school that could discriminate against gay students and those of other faiths. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the school was a violation of the First Amendment’s establishment clause, Oklahoma law, and the state’s constitution. The St. Isidore supporters had already said that they would go to the Supreme Court if necessary. They did.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case due to connections to Garnett and other issues. This left eight justices, six with a history of favoring church over state. A tie would keep the state Supreme Court’s rejection of the school in place. A ruling for St. Isidore would allow taxpayer funding to establish a faith-based school, with government support of a curriculum that requires students to follow Catholic beliefs.
The Supreme Court did vote 4-4, but there is still plenty of reason for concern. The Court was evenly divided because Justice Barrett (rightfully) recused herself. A religious charter school with no connections to any justices will come looking for public funds, and that ruling will be different. At a news conference after the ruling, Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters (the superintendent who tried to purchase bibles and bible-infused instruction materials for public schools) said that the fight was not over. This is an effort that will reach Maine.
Also, Maine’s Carson v. Makin fallout continues. Crosspoint Church and St. Dominic Academy have argued in separate cases that they should be permitted to receive public funds and be allowed to discriminate according to their religious beliefs. In the real world, this might seem absolutely ludicrous. After all, in Carson v. Makin they argued that they were being treated differently from public schools. Now they’re suing because they’re being treated the same! The lead attorney has already said that they will take their case to the Supreme Court if necessary. Sound familiar?
Attorneys often say they’ll do that but, on a related note, Project 2025: Mandate for Change mentions the Supreme Court only to reference specific decisions or as a goal for appeals. There is nothing about restructuring it, as there is with virtually every other area within the federal government. The obvious conclusion is that they’ve already got the Court they wanted.
And they’re working on the rest now.