Good morning. We're covering an Oklahoma school decision, a dam attack in Ukraine and Prince Harry. |
 | | A cathedral in Oklahoma City.Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman, via USA Today Network |
|
Religious conservatives often lament they have been on the losing end of recent social trends, and they're not entirely wrong about that. Same-sex marriage has become legal nationwide. Church attendance is down. About 30 percent of Americans identify as having no religion. |
But there are also several ways in which organized religion has been on a political winning streak. Abortion is the most obvious example, and yesterday brought another instance in a different realm: education. |
State officials in Oklahoma approved the local Roman Catholic archdiocese's request to operate a public charter school. It will be the first explicitly religious public school in the U.S. in modern times, experts say. Supporters of the school hope to use it as a test case to take to the Supreme Court and win a clear right for charter schools to offer religious instruction. |
Charter schools are public schools, financed by taxpayer dollars, but given the freedom to operate more flexibly than traditional schools. Nationwide, 8 percent of public schools are charter schools. Advocates of religious charter schools argue that church groups should have the same right to manage schools as other organizations. |
Opponents argue that religious charter schools erase the separation between church and state by using government funds to support religious instruction. Over time, opponents say, the growth of church-affiliated charter schools could starve traditional schools of funding and lead to increased segregation of children along religious lines. Rachel Laser, the head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, criticized the Oklahoma decision as "a sea change for American democracy" and promised to file legal action against it. |
The Oklahoma board that oversees charter schools voted 3-2 to approve the new school, which will be called St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. It will focus on students in rural areas. You can read more about the decision in this story by my colleague Sarah Mervosh. |
Whatever happens with the Oklahoma case, the Supreme Court's Republican-appointed majority has already expanded the reach and influence of religious groups. "The Supreme Court has over the last few years issued an extraordinary series of decisions expanding the role of religion in public life, sometimes at the expense of other values, like gay rights and access to contraception," Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times, told me. |
Between the 1950s and mid-1980s, the court sided with religious interests roughly half the time, an academic study found. Since John Roberts became chief justice in 2005, the share has jumped to more than 80 percent. By some measures, Roberts and the five other current conservative justices appear to be the six most pro-religion justices in the court's history. |
The kinds of cases the court is hearing have changed, too, Adam notes. When Earl Warren was chief justice in the 1950s and 1960s, all of the rulings in favor of religion benefited minority groups or dissenting practitioners. In the Roberts court, the winners tend to be mainstream Christians. |
In cases over the past several years, the court has ruled that: |
- A Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia can defy city rules and refuse to work with same-sex couples who apply to care for foster children.
|
In coming weeks, as the court's current term winds down, the justices are expected to rule on two more religion cases. |
One considers whether a website designer can refuse to work with same-sex couples on the grounds that forcing her to celebrate same-sex marriages would violate her free-speech rights. The justices' comments during oral arguments suggested they were likely to side with the designer, a decision that would effectively prioritize religious rights and free speech over L.G.B.T.Q. equality. It would also suggest that L.G.B.T.Q. rights were more vulnerable than some other forms of civil rights. |
In the second case, the Supreme Court seems similarly poised to rule for religion, although the oral argument suggested that the ruling might be narrow. In that case, a postal worker has asked for the right not to work on Sunday — his Sabbath — without losing his job. |
For more: Adam Liptak explained the academic research about the court's new pro-religion stance in this column. |
 | | An image taken from video of the breached dam.milinfolive, via Telegram |
|
Airline mergers between big companies, like the one planned between JetBlue and Spirit, are making airline travel more miserable, Bill Saporito writes. |
Save 50% on Games. Offer won't last. |
Love to play? Discover all our games. Subscribe to New York Times Games today and save 50% on your first year — reach Genius on Spelling Bee, solve the daily Wordle faster with WordleBot, plus more. |
 | | A kestrel. |
|
Lives Lived: Andrew Bellucci was a chef in New York City who achieved fame for his pizza. Then he lost his job and reputation when an old crime caught up with him. He died at 59. |
 | | A first-round match in Paris.Pete Kiehart for The New York Times |
|
 | | Alex NewellThea Traff for The New York Times |
|
What draws an actor to the stage? The Times spoke with three dozen Tony-nominated performers about their passion for the profession. "An actor gets to explore all the human desire that is out there," Wendell Pierce, star of "Death of a Salesman," said. Read more of their quotes, with portraits by the photographer Thea Traff. |
 | | A weeknight-friendly spaghetti meal.David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. |
|
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David |
 | Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Amy Fiscus News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Lyna Bentahar, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lauren Hard Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch |
|
