Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-577_khlp.pdf
Page Number: 16.0

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TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH OF COLUMBIA, INC. v.
COMER 
Opinion of the Court 

weight of our precedents by arguing that the free exercise
question  in  this  case  is  instead  controlled  by  our  decision 
in Locke v. Davey.  It is not.  In Locke, the State of Wash-
ington  created  a  scholarship  program  to  assist  high-
achieving students with the costs of postsecondary educa-
tion.  The scholarships were paid out of the State’s general 
fund,  and  eligibility  was  based  on  criteria  such  as  an 
applicant’s  score  on  college  admission  tests  and  family 
income.  While scholarship recipients were free to use the 
money  at  accredited  religious  and  non-religious  schools 
alike, they were not permitted to use the funds to pursue a 
devotional  theology  degree—one  “devotional  in  nature  or 
designed  to  induce  religious  faith.”  540  U. S.,  at  716 
(internal  quotation  marks  omitted).    Davey  was  selected
for  a  scholarship  but  was  denied  the  funds  when  he  re-
fused to certify that he would not use them toward a devo-
tional degree.  He sued, arguing that the State’s refusal to 
allow  its  scholarship  money  to  go  toward  such  degrees
violated his free exercise rights. 

This Court disagreed.  It began by explaining what was 
not at issue.  Washington’s selective funding program was
not comparable to the free exercise violations found in the
“Lukumi line of cases,” including those striking down laws
requiring  individuals  to  “choose  between  their  religious
beliefs  and  receiving  a  government  benefit.”  Id.,  at  720– 
721.  At the outset, then, the Court made clear that Locke 
was not like the case now before us. 

Washington’s  restriction  on  the  use  of  its  scholarship 
funds was different.  According to the Court, the State had
“merely  chosen  not  to  fund  a  distinct  category  of  instruc-
tion.”  Id.,  at  721.    Davey  was  not  denied  a  scholarship 
because  of  who  he  was;  he  was  denied  a  scholarship  be-
cause of what he proposed to do—use the funds to prepare 
for  the  ministry.  Here  there  is  no  question  that  Trinity
Lutheran  was  denied  a  grant  simply  because  of  what  it 
is—a church.