美国国家公共电台 NPR Playground Case Could Breach Barrier Between Tax Coffers, Religious Schools

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The United States Supreme¹ Court is busy this week with a ninth justice, Neil Gorsuch, on the bench. Today, the court hears arguments in a Missouri case with the potential to open state coffers for aid to parochial schools. Like Missouri, three-quarters of the states have constitutional provisions barring direct or indirect aid to religious schools. But a funny thing happened on the way to the Supreme Court, as NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE²: On January 15, 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Trinity Lutheran Church v. the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. A month later, Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly, leaving an eight-justice court that was deeply divided on questions concerning the separation of church and state. And so for nearly a year and a half, the justices punted, declining to hear oral arguments in the case until the court was back up to full strength. Now that day has come, sort of - more on that sort of later - first, the case.

The Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo., operates a preschool and day care learning center as part of its church ministry³. Ninety children, ages 2 to 5, attend the school and play on its playground. In 2012, the church applied⁴ for a grant from the state to essentially⁵ rubberize the playground's surface using old and discarded tires. It applied despite written regulations barring state grants to religious institutions.

The Department of Natural Resources, which administers the scrap⁶ tire program, had enough money to fund 14 of the 44 applicants⁷. Although Trinity Lutheran would have qualified⁸ otherwise, the state turned it down, citing a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that bars giving state aid to a school that is owned or controlled by a church, sect⁹ or a denomination¹⁰, and where the applicant's mission is spiritual in nature. There is no doubt that the learning center's mission is spiritual in nature, even if the playground's surface is not. Trinity the Lutheran went to court, claiming that the grant denial interfered¹¹ with its free exercise of religion and unconstitutionally discriminated¹² against the school based on religion. Gail Schuster is director of the Trinity Lutheran Child Learning Center.

GAIL SCHUSTER: The issue here is that children are children. And their safety is important to us. And the children should not be treated as second-class citizens.

TOTENBERG: Dan Cortman of the Alliance Defending Freedom will be representing the church in the Supreme Court today. The grant program, he notes, was open to all not-for-profit schools except religious ones.

DAN CORTMAN: Just by excluding them because they're religious takes the separation of church and state and goes too far because now you're treating a religious organization worse than everybody else. The government is not funding a religious activity. It's funding the playground where students play.

TOTENBERG: Not so, says the state of Missouri. The free exercise clause of the Constitution, in its own words, forbids only government action that prohibits the free exercise of religion. It does not require the government to subsidize churches or provide equal funding opportunities to religious and non-religious groups alike. Trinity Lutheran's insistence¹³ that its playground resurfacing project is secular¹⁴ does not solve the problem, adds the state, because money is fungible. And here, the church's religious intent is stated specifically in the learning center's mission.

The ACLU, which filed a brief supporting the state's position, points to the Constitution's other religion clause barring any state establishment of religion. The Founders¹⁵ included that provision because they understood the problems that arise when government and religion become entangled¹⁶, according to the ACLU's Dan Mach (ph).

DAN MACH: When you have governments providing direct cash to houses of worship, you threaten church autonomy and independence. You can pit denomination against denomination, sect against sect.

TOTENBERG: And, he maintains, even neutral criteria¹⁷ can operate to favor, for example, big churches or denominations¹⁸ against smaller ones. Mach argues that we as a society have given religious institutions many special benefits and exemptions²⁰ from laws that apply to everyone else. Religious institutions not only have tax exempt¹⁹ status, but general civil rights laws do not apply to them.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that teachers at a Lutheran school could not sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act because they're considered ministers of the church. The ACLU's Mach contends that by its position in this case, religious schools are trying to, quote, "have their cake and eat it too."

MACH: It wants to keep those benefits and also get handouts²¹ from the government.

TOTENBERG: Making this case yet more interesting is the Missouri State Constitution and similar provisions in another 36 states barring direct or indirect aid to parochial schools. In recent years, as the U.S. Supreme Court has become increasingly willing to lower the wall separating church and state, these state constitutions have become a bigger and bigger obstacle. And advocates of religious liberty have gone to court rather than seeking through the democratic process to get rid of the state constitutional provisions. The ACLU's Mach contends that this case is part of a movement.

MACH: There is a movement to undermine public schools and to funnel²² taxpayer²³ dollars to religious schools. And depending on how this case goes, that could greatly affect how that movement operates.

TOTENBERG: Well, maybe. As we said at the beginning, a funny thing happened on the way to the Supreme Court. Last week, the newly elected Republican governor of Missouri, Eric Greitens, decided²⁴ to change the state's long-standing policy on aid programs like this one, blaming, quote, "government bureaucrats²⁵" for the previous policy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ERIC GREITENS: You sent me here to fight for all Missourians. And that includes fighting for and defending people of faith who are too often under attack.

TOTENBERG: Making such a grand stand may be good politics, but it's lousy legal strategy because the governor's new position could moot²⁶ the case. Upon seeing the governor's press release, the Supreme Court last Friday asked both sides to submit their views on whether there is still a live dispute here since the state now agrees with the position taken by Trinity Lutheran. Today's argument should be, shall we say, interesting. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF EAST WEST QUINTET'S "INTERSTELLAR")

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

7 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

10 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

11 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

13 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

14 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

15 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

16 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

18 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

20 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

21 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

22 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

23 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

24 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

25 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

26 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。