Justice Kennedy, tear down this wall

Battles over religious liberty sometimes resemble a schoolyard brawl, with adversaries hurling childish taunts at one another and hulking bullies preying on smaller, weaker opponents — think of the Obama administration's vicious and unrelenting attacks on the Little Sisters of the Poor.

It's appropriate, then, that an important religious liberty case now before the US Supreme Court should center arguments over funding for the resurfacing of a schoolyard playground.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer.

This story began in 2012, when the Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Mo, which operates daycare and pre-school facilities, applied to a program that grants money to non-profit organizations to install rubber playground surfaces. The rubber, from recycled tires, is said to be safer for children and the environment.

The school's application had been ranked high enough on its merits by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to secure a grant. But the state nixed the grant because of the school's religious affiliation. The Missouri state constitution prohibits giving funding to religious entities.