Missouri

Missouri is not obligated to give a grant to a church for the purpose of refurbishing its religious pre­school’s playground, Americans Uni­ted said in a recent friend-of-the-court brief.

The brief was filed in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Col­um­bia, Inc. v. Pauley and submitted to the Supreme Court in July by Americans United and seven allied groups.

In the brief, the organizations explained that Missouri’s decision to offer grants only to secular organizations is not unconstitutional. 

Thanks to the power of the Religious Right, a number of bad bills have circulated in the states this year that would allow discrimination against LGBT persons in the name of “religious freedom.” 

Here are updates on the status of some of those measures.

A Missouri chapter of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. recently raised a record amount of money at its annual fundraiser, thanks in part to a backlash to critical comments from a prominent Catholic cleric.

In a February missive, Roman Catholic Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis slammed the Girl Scouts for supposedly promoting ideas that are “incompatible” with Catholic doctrine.

Four years ago, officials at Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo., decided they would like to resurface a playground at the church’s religious preschool – and that taxpayers should pick up the tab for it.

Under a state program, aid was available for such projects through a program that awarded grants to purchase recycled tires – but not for houses of worship. The church sued, and its attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a large Religious Right group, made a startling claim: The church has a constitutional right to taxpayer support.

The parents of two Missouri soldiers killed during Operation Desert Storm are unhappy that a memorial to their sons that previously included a Christian symbol is scheduled to be moved from a county courthouse to a local cemetery.