Jacksonville, Fl — Florida will continue using public funding for religious charter schools and universities.
Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a legal opinion on Thursday declaring the state constitution’s ban on funding for religious institutions violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.
“The First Amendment grants Americans and Floridians the right to freely exercise their religion and the Supreme Court has been clear, the government cannot deny public benefit to someone just because they are religious.”, Uthmeier said in a video shared on social media.
Uthmeier’s interpretation of the Establishment Clause also claims that while atheists are protected in their beliefs, their actions derived from nonbelief aren’t “privileged” in the same way as those who adhere to a religion.
The legal opinion could allow charter schools, which are independently run but receive funding from public school districts, to be religious in nature, and allow a state scholarship program to provide funds for students to attend Christian colleges.
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