Supreme Court hears Catholic plea to participate in Colorado preschool program

WASHINGTON — Tackling the latest in a series of cases that pit LGBTQ and religious rights against each other, the Supreme Court on Tuesday will consider whether Catholic entities should be exempted from the state’s antidiscrimination rules so they can participate in a taxpayer-funded preschool program. In the Election Day session, the justices will weigh whether Colorado’s refusal to grant an accommodation violates the religious rights of the Archdiocese of Denver and other plaintiffs under the Constitution’s First Amendment. It is the latest in a series of cases in which Christian plaintiffs have pushed back against antidiscrimination measures aimed at protecting LGBTQ rights. Most such cases considered by the Supreme Court in the past decade have arisen from Colorado.

The court has a 6-3 conservative majority that regularly favors religious rights in cases brought by Christian groups. At issue is a provision of state law that bars preschools from participating in the state-funded program if they refuse admission to children based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child or parents. As Catholic doctrine does not recognize same-sex relationships or transgender status, the plaintiffs say the rule conflicts with their religious rights. The case is “uncomplicated,” the archdiocese’s lawyers at religious liberty group Becket said in court papers, because Colorado “knowingly excluded Catholic preschools solely on account of