# Supreme Court Faces Religious Discrimination Funding Challenge

> Supreme Court may let public funds fund religious schools that exclude LGBTQ families.
- Title: Supreme Court Faces Religious Discrimination Funding Challenge
- Summary: Supreme Court may let public funds fund religious schools that exclude LGBTQ families.
- Keywords: supreme court, religious discrimination, lgbtq families, taxpayer funds, st mary catholic parish, roy, colorado preschool, non discrimination policy, strict scrutiny, 10th circuit court, catholic archdiocese, denver
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/11/supreme-court-religious-descrimination-mary-catholic-parish-roy
- Author: Pema Levy
- Published: 2026-11-03T18:26:31+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: supreme court, religious discrimination, lgbtq families, taxpayer funds, st mary catholic parish, roy, colorado preschool, non discrimination policy, strict scrutiny, 10th circuit court, catholic archdiocese, denver
## Supreme Court Oral Arguments
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears poised to weaken church-state separation by requiring taxpayer dollars for religious schools that deny admission to LGBTQ families.

> religious people are not being treated the same way as non-religious people
## Colorado Preschool Program
Colorado’s universal preschool program requires religious schools to not exclude children based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
## Archdiocese Lawsuit
The Archdiocese of Denver and two parish preschools sued over Colorado’s nondiscrimination policy for religious schools.
## Strict Scrutiny Argument
Challengers argue Colorado’s policy should be judged under strict scrutiny, requiring strong government interest and no other means to achieve results.
## Kagan’s Concern
Justice Kagan warned that strict scrutiny could lead to endless court cases about religious beliefs versus non-discrimination laws.

> why would we put ourselves in the middle of that
## Jackson’s Concern
Justice Jackson warned strict scrutiny could open doors for race discrimination claims by religious entities.

> could that same logic support a religious entity who says we don’t want to open our schools to students of races that we disagree with
## Alito’s Question
Justice Alito questioned whether Colorado anticipated its nondiscrimination policy would exclude religious preschools.

> we have here a requirement that has a very severe impact on certain religions and that was something that everybody could have anticipated
## Court History
The court has weakened racial diversity policies and allowed states to use race-neutral metrics to disenfranchise minorities.
## Likely Outcome
The Supreme Court may let public funds fund religious schools that exclude LGBTQ families, harming educational opportunities for lgbtq children.
## Key takeaway

Supreme Court could require taxpayer money to subsidize religious schools that deny admission to LGBTQ families.