The Supreme Court Could Force Taxpayers to Subsidize Religious Schools

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in a case that poses a bizarre question: Once states provide public funds to private schools, are they obligated to fund parochial schools, too? The answer should be obvious: Of course the Constitution does not require states to subsidize religious education—to the contrary, it limits the government’s ability to finance religion. Yet the court’s conservative majority may be prepared to turn the First Amendment on its head, compelling states to underwrite the religious indoctrination of children.

Wednesday’s case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of...