Religious Animus Did Not Drive the Laws Espinoza Overturned

They are questions that have evaded simple answers for over 200 years: Which religious institutions can get tax funding? Is it “bigotry” to exclude religious schools? Or are the bigots the ones hoping to cram their religion down the throats of taxpayers? In the latest round of this debate, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled 5 to 4 states with voucher programs must allow private religious schools to participate. Both sides made historically based arguments, but because they focused on the wrong period, they ignored the most important lesson from America’s past. Although ideas about religion and bigotry have changed dramatically over the centuries, the guiding principle for using tax money properly in public schools has not.