• Reports and Resources

Evolution of Recent Case Law on Religious Use

Summaries of federal and state cases pertaining to the extension of public benefits to sectarian entities and/or for religious purposes from June 30, 2020, to February 28, 2026.

Disclaimer

The following is provided to further legal education and research and is not intended to provide legal advice or counsel as to any particular situation. The National Association of Bond Lawyers takes no responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of this material. Please also note this resource exists only as a digital document and is up to date through February 28, 2026. As such, it may not reflect changes and developments to this area of law made after that date. You are encouraged to conduct independent research of original sources of authority. If you discover any errors or omissions, please direct those and any other comments to NABL.

Summary

The following synopses highlight recent decisions from federal and state courts across the nation issued in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, 582 U.S. 449 (2017), Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, 591 U.S. 464 (2020), and Carson v. Makin, 596 U.S. 767 (2022), which built on the Court’s decision in Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004). The case summaries cover the period beginning June 30, 2020, through and including February 28, 2026, and address issues pertaining to the extension of public benefits to sectarian entities and/or for religious purposes. Specifically, the summaries describe whether the denial of benefits based on religion violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and whether the provision of those benefits to religiously affiliated persons violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (or similar provisions in state constitutions that prohibit public aid to religious entities (referred to below as “no-aid” provisions or “Blaine amendment” provisions). Readers should note that the following material is not exhaustive and is only intended to bring to your attention various decisions which may be of interest to public finance attorneys. This area of law is rapidly developing and there are several important cases working their way through the court system post February 28, 2026, the end of the period covered by this paper.

Principal Authors
Contributors and Reviewers

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