Apparently, it depends on whether it's government funding or government regulation that's on the line.
The US Supreme Court is currently hearing a case about a church that was denied a grant by the state of Missouri for upgrades to the playground used by its daycare and pre-school:
Contrast this with another recent Supreme Court case - also involving a Lutheran church - where the church argued that the duties of a fourth-grade teacher made her a "religious leader" and should therefore be exempt from normal protections of employment law:
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Wikipedia
Anyone want to make the case for why a teacher at a church-run school would be "religious", but the playground at a church-run school would be "secular"?
Bonus question: if a church pre-school's playground is a "secular activity" because it's open to the public a few months a year, what other things associated with a church are "secular activities"?
The US Supreme Court is currently hearing a case about a church that was denied a grant by the state of Missouri for upgrades to the playground used by its daycare and pre-school:
Neil Gorsuch takes backseat as supreme court weighs church-state separationThe church, which runs a pre-school and daycare centre, contends that its playground is open to the public in summer and so should be eligible for state assistance. Missouri insists that, as a religious institution, the church is not eligible for state-funded upgrades.
Setting the parameters, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recalled the supreme court’s 1947 ruling in Everson v Board of Education that established separation between church and state. “This court said in no uncertain terms what the framers didn’t want was tax money imposed to pay for building or maintaining churches or church property,” she said. “And doesn’t that fit this case?”
Not so, said David Cortman, counsel for the Trinity Lutheran church, suggesting that the Everson case also emphasised that religious people and organisations not be deprived of general government benefits. “I think there’s a difference between funding of religious activities and funding secular activities of a religious organisation.”
Contrast this with another recent Supreme Court case - also involving a Lutheran church - where the church argued that the duties of a fourth-grade teacher made her a "religious leader" and should therefore be exempt from normal protections of employment law:
In 1999, Cheryl Perich started teaching at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Michigan. While Perich led students in prayer and taught a religion class several days a week, her job primarily consisted of teaching grade school art, science, social studies and music. In 2004, Perich left on disability and was diagnosed with narcolepsy. In 2005, after being cleared by her doctors to go back to work, the school told her that they already hired someone else. Perich then threatened to file suit, and so the school promptly fired her for "insubordination and disruptive behavior".[1][2] Perich sued for unlawful dismissal under the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act.[1]
[...]
All nine Supreme Court justices agreed with the decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts that "the Establishment Clause prevents the Government from appointing ministers, and the Free Exercise Clause prevents it from interfering with the freedom of religious groups to select their own." Moreover, because the respondent in this case was a minister within the meaning of the ministerial exception, the First Amendment requires dismissal of her employment discrimination suit against her religious employer.
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Wikipedia
Anyone want to make the case for why a teacher at a church-run school would be "religious", but the playground at a church-run school would be "secular"?
Bonus question: if a church pre-school's playground is a "secular activity" because it's open to the public a few months a year, what other things associated with a church are "secular activities"?