Written by Don Byrd
While Florida ponders a constitutional amendment that would remove restrictions on government aid to religious institutions, Missouri seems poised to be next in line. A resolution introduced last week would put the matter before voters. Like the misguided effort in Florida, the change in Missouri would open the door to school voucher programs, which seem to be proponents’ true goal.
Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, said the current Missouri Constitution infringes upon the freedom of parents to choose which schools their children attend. Barnes doesn’t see the resolution as supporting religious institutions but as giving students additional educational resources.
And don’t forget the other side of the state funding equation: regulation, a point not lost on State Representative Sara Lampe.
Lampe said she wonders if state funding could open the door for state intervention into private religious institutions or these institutions will be allowed to keep themselves outside of government intervention.
Provisions like those in the Florida and Missouri State Constitutions prohibiting government from aiding religion have helped maintain the institutional separation of church and state for more than 150 years, safeguards that protect both the taxpayer and the church.
You can read the Missouri Resolution here.
