Justice Department Says Religious Groups Cannot Be Barred From Federal Grants
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel published an opinion on August 25 concluding that federal rules restricting religious organizations from receiving government grants are unconstitutional. The opinion reverses a 2019 position that had allowed the government to deny capital financing to facilities used for worship. The Department of Health and Human Services had asked the office on July 1 whether its own religious funding restrictions were required by the Establishment Clause and, if not, whether they were even constitutional under the Free Exercise Clause.
The opinion points to three recent Supreme Court rulings on religious funding, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, Carson v. Makin, and Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, as the basis for the reversal. First Liberty senior counsel Mike Berry welcomed the change, saying people of faith have tolerated religious discrimination in government funding for too long. Freedom From Religion Foundation co president Annie Laurie Gaylor countered that the First Amendment does not require the government to fund prayer, preaching, or proselytizing. The opinion could reshape how federal agencies structure grant programs involving faith based organizations going forward.
