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Diversity in Education … For All But Those in Religious Studies Jerry Falwell Friday, Mar. 05, 2004 We are constantly advised by education officials that diversity is the key to 21st Century schooling. But when it comes to religious Americans, diversity suddenly becomes a nebulous term. A recent court case illustrates how religious Americans are often forced to play on an uneven playing field solely because they desire to follow the calling of their faith. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that college scholarship programs can be denied to students majoring in theological studies. This ruling could have a...

Holy Discrimination! The Supreme Court approves religious discrimination. By Douglas W. Kmiec The Supreme Court last week got two propositions badly confused. States do not have the obligation to subsidize anyone's constitutional rights, but until now, it was also true that states could not discriminate on the basis of faith in the allocation of general benefits. In Locke v. Davey, the Court approved overt religious discrimination. That the Court's opinion excludes religious believers, notwithstanding the Constitution's express guarantee of the free exercise of religion is surely ironic given that it has so recently and so casually manufactured constitutional protections for...

WASHINGTON — In a case addressing the constitutional separation of church and state, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that states can withhold college scholarships from students who major in religion. The justices, in a 7-2 decision, balanced the Constitution’s prohibition on state endorsement of religion and its mandate that states let residents exercise their faith freely. Washington state, by denying scholarship money to theology majors, is expressing neutrality on the issue of religion. Meanwhile, it permits scholarship recipients to practice their faith and take theology courses, so long as that is not their major field of study, the court said....

Justice Scalia: "What next? Will we deny priests and nuns their prescription-drug benefits on the ground that taxpayers' freedom of conscience forbids medicating the clergy at public expense?" (KRT) In a major victory for advocates of a strict constitutional separation of church and state, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Washington state ban on taxpayer-funded college aid being given to students pursuing theology degrees. The 7-2 ruling buoyed opponents of school-voucher programs who said it might bolster their case that public money shouldn't be used to assist parochial-school students. But advocates of such programs took solace in the narrowness...

What is the nature of the State’s asserted interest here? It cannot be protecting the pocketbooks of its citizens; given the tiny fraction of Promise Scholars who would pursue theology degrees, the amount of any citizen’s tax bill at stake is de minimis. It cannot be preventing mistaken appearance of endorsement; where a State merely declines to penalize students for selecting a religious major, “[n]o reasonable observer is likely to draw … an inference that the State itself is endorsing a religious practice or belief.” Id., at 493 (O’Connor, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). Nor can Washington’s...

<p>WASHINGTON — TheSupreme Court (search), in a new rendering on separation of church and state (search), voted Wednesday to let states withhold scholarships from students studying theology.</p> <p>The court's 7-2 ruling held that the state of Washington was within its rights to deny a taxpayer-funded scholarship to a college student who was studying to be a minister. That holding applies even when money is available to students studying anything else.</p>

<p>When Joshua Davey arrived at Northwest College outside Seattle in the fall of 1999, he had a state "Promise Scholarship" and a plan to become a church pastor. Then he made a surprising discovery: He could keep one or the other, but not both.</p>

War on religion ... or just Christianity? Posted: December 4, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com The Supreme Court is about to hear a challenge from a former divinity student who was denied a state scholarship because he wanted to study for ministry. The Court appears deeply divided over the case of Joshua Davey, who lost a state merit scholarship when he declared theology as his major. The Supreme Court is split. At least four justices seem to agree that the state of Washington was within its rights to deny the money to Davey. The other four seemed, according to legal experts,...

WASHINGTON -- All Joshua Davey, a valedictorian at his Spokane high school, wanted was to study in college to become a minister. Instead, that simple plan four years ago turned into a church-state case embraced by religious conservatives as a vehicle for expanding their recent Supreme Court victories. But when the Davey case was argued at the Supreme Court yesterday, it met resistance from a deeply divided court. One called the possible consequences of the case "breathtaking."

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court is presiding over a case in which a college student who applied for a state scholarship was denied the funds after he chose to major in theology. Joshua Davey attended Northwest College in Kirkland, Wash., and was awarded the state's Promise Scholarship for academic excellence and financial need. The state withdrew the money it awarded Davey for the 1999-2001 school years because Davey declared a double major in pastoral ministries and business management. In July 2002, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a district court ruling and declared the...

<p>For sheer ugliness, few chapters rival the nativist movements and secret societies that ravaged American politics in the 19th century. So what does it say that the fight to keep the main legislative accomplishment of that era alive is being championed today by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union?</p>

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could open the way to far greater public funding of religious education. The justices will consider a case that asks whether a state, in an effort to avoid using public money to train clergy, may deny scholarships to theology students. The court's decision in the case could resolve a broader legal question that touches hundreds of thousand of American schoolchildren and their families: whether federal, state and local governments can be required to fund the growing number of voucher programs that offer tuition payments to parents who send their...

Olympia, Washington-AP -- Joshua Davey's hard work and good grades won him a state scholarship, but his ambition to become a minister denied him the money. Davey sued and won, but the state of Washington is appealing to the U-S Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments on Tuesday. The case pits Washington state's tough ban on using public money for religious purposes against the U-S Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion. A ruling in Davey's favor could overturn similar prohibitions in as many as 36 other states. Davey, who has since abandoned his ambition for the ministry in favor...

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Joshua Davey's hard work and good grades won him a state scholarship, but his ambition to be a minister denied him the money. Now his legal challenge has become another U.S. Supreme Court battle over the separation of church and state. Davey's case, set for oral argument Tuesday, pits Washington state's tough ban on using public money for religious purposes against the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion. A ruling in Davey's favor could overturn similar prohibitions in as many as 36 other states, including California. Davey, who has since abandoned his ambition for the ministry...

Law on church-state separation violated student's rights, court rules Friday, July 19, 2002 By SCOTT SUNDE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Joshua Davey was valedictorian of his University High School class in Spokane, scored a perfect 800 on the verbal section of his college-entrance exams and won a National Merit Scholarship. His academic prowess and his family's income made him a perfect selection for Washington's Promise Scholarship, which goes annually to more than 6,000 of the state's brightest students who come from modest means. Indeed, the state awarded him $1,125 in 1999 for his freshman year at Northwest College, a Kirkland school...