Published originally in the Haaretz.
WASHINGTON – The overturning of Roe v. Wade was only one of several U.S. Supreme Court cases this session that fueled American Jews’ concerns about a shift in the separation of church and state.
There were three key decisions, the major one Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the ruling recognizing a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. It drew near-unanimous condemnation from the U.S. Jewish community.
Marc Stern, chief legal officer at the American Jewish Committee, said the three court rulings “confine the Constitution to an 18th-century America. The Constitution should not change with every new trend, but neither can it sensibly be read without regard to massive change in American life.”
According to Jody Rabhan, chief policy officer at the National Council of Jewish Women, “The court is dismantling the wall between religion and state, and the impact on people – especially children, who practice a minority religion or no religion – cannot be overstated.”
In the case of Carson v. Makin, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Maine parents seeking funding to send their children to religious schools.
The 6-3 vote ruled in favor of parents who objected to Maine’s policy excluding religious schools from funding for private-school education for students in districts without private schools.
While groups like the Orthodox Union welcomed the decision as a victory for religious liberty and parental choice in education, others warned about the implications of forcing taxpayers to pay for others’ private education. The ruling also stokes concerns that Carson v. Makin leads to a precedent of letting public money fund religious indoctrination.
“Remarkably and stunningly, even for this right-wing majority, this decision completely vitiates the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution and, with it, the separation of church and state, a core constitutional principle that has bound this country together since its founding,” said the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten.
“The First Amendment was meant to balance the establishment clause and free exercise clause. Instead, this ruling creates further strife and tension between taxpayers and people of different religions, which the establishment clause was intended to protect against.”
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring from the court Thursday, warned in his dissenting opinion that the ruling could open the door to broader public funding of religious schools. He asked: “Does that transformation mean that a school district that pays for public schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to send their children to religious schools?”
In another case, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of a Washington State football coach who lost his job after he refused to end his tradition of praying at the 50-yard line after his team’s victories. Players would often join him.
The ruling in Kennedy v. Bramberton marks a significant setback in efforts to fight against compulsory school prayer.
“No student should have to choose between their religious freedom and being part of school activities. But today’s ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton could force children enrolled in public schools to do just that,” said Rabhan of the National Council of Jewish Women.
The American Jewish Congress said about the ruling: “Just days after revoking protections for hundreds of millions of women once safeguarded by Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court is again deciding to overturn decades of established precedent and set our country back.”
The court’s three rulings only stand to fuel concerns about a shift of the Supreme Court to the right, amid concerns about how an erosion of the court’s reputation might affect rulings protecting religious groups.
