Anglicans oppose state funding of religious schools… in America

The Church of England’s sister body in the United States has come out strongly against the state funding of religious schools, with one senior figure declaring ‘a responsibility to speak with moral clarity in the face of the rising tide of Christian nationalism and its dangerous ties to white supremacy.’ The Church of England is the biggest provider of state-funded religious schools in England.

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA) is the US member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its Presiding Bishop (head of the church) Sean Rowe has joined with other religious leaders to intervene in a case before the Supreme Court that will be heard at the end of this month. The intervention opposes the state funding of a Catholic ‘charter school’ – the US equivalent to a free school in England – which would be the first religious state school in the US. Some religious private schools in the US effectively get state funds through voucher programmes, whereby parents get cash for picking a private school, but none have in the past been state schools, as such a situation has previously been held to be unconstitutional.

The intervention says that ‘If St. Isidore [the Catholic school] is functionally a [state] school, as the Oklahoma Supreme Court held, then it is flatly unconstitutional for the state to fund its religious mission… The Episcopal Church has consistently supported religious freedom for all in a variety of contexts.’

The President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris has also commented in support of the intervention. The House of Deputies is one of the two houses of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church – its equivalent of the general synod. Episcopal News Service reports:

‘“As a church, we have a responsibility to speak with moral clarity in the face of the rising tide of Christian nationalism and its dangerous ties to white supremacy,” Ayala Harris said. “Public funding of religious charter schools is not a neutral act—it erodes both public education and the constitutional safeguards that protect true religious liberty.”

‘Ayala Harris also spoke as a resident of Oklahoma and alluded to the role Christian nationalism played in inspiring the Oklahoma City bombing 30 years ago. “I am deeply aware of what’s at stake when government entangles itself with sectarian interests,” she said. “It threatens our democracy, our schools, and our shared future.”’

Humanists UK Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson commented

‘The Anglican Church in the United States is right to oppose the state funding of religious schools. The impact that such funding has had across the UK has been disastrous, in terms of segregating pupils based on religion, ethnicity, and family wealth. It denies young people their freedom of religion or belief. And it is deeply out of step with society today. For example, the Church of England has more children in its schools, mandated by law to take part in its acts of worship every weekday, than it has people of all ages worshipping in its churches each month.

‘We would encourage all religious groups that run state schools to recognise their negative impacts, to move away from segregation and to support a system of state education that is inclusive and open to all.’