Washington, DC – Today, American Atheists filed an amicus brief calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a Catholic parish’s demand that it be allowed to engage in harmful discrimination against children and families and still receive government funds for its preschool.
In St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, the Court will decide whether Colorado can require schools participating in its Universal Preschool Program (UPK) to agree to a provision that prohibits discrimination on the basis of “race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability, as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family.” The church argues that the nondiscrimination requirement violates its free exercise of religion.
American Atheists’ brief describes the experiences of atheist and nonreligious children and families around the country who have been subjected to harmful discrimination by religious schools and social service providers. In 2019, American Atheists conducted the U.S. Secular Survey, the largest survey of the nonreligious community in the United States. Participants in the Secular Survey were asked whether or not they had faced discrimination in numerous settings, including education and social services. Participants were also given an opportunity to describe their experiences in their own words.
Roughly 9,000 atheist Americans told their stories, recounting a wide range of discriminatory experiences. They reported being denied food at a daycare after refusing to pray before a meal and forced exclusion from preschool activities. Parents of preschool-aged children reported extreme difficulty finding nonreligious preschools and, even when they thought they had enrolled their children in seemingly secular programs, discovered that their children were still being forced to engage in religious activities. Grade-school aged children attending religious private schools were denied academic recognition or were even threatened with being held back a grade unless they accepted communion.
“If the Court sides with the church in this case, it would be enabling preschools providing a government-funded service to engage in some truly heinous forms of discrimination,” said Geoffrey T. Blackwell, legal director for American Atheists and author of the briefs. “No American should be forced to fund their own mistreatment with their own tax dollars.”
In all, over one third (33.6%) of young (18-24) participants who attended school or who have children attending school reported having had negative experiences in an educational setting within the prior three years because of their atheism. These experiences have drastic, long-lasting consequences. People facing discrimination have a significantly higher likelihood of showing signs of depression. Those who reported facing discrimination when obtaining public benefits were twice as likely to screen positive for depression. Those age 18-24 who reported education discrimination due to their nonreligious beliefs were 13.6% more likely to screen positive for depression than those that did not.
“Colorado, rightly, imposes its nondiscrimination requirement in order to avoid exactly this kind of damaging behavior. It must be allowed to continue protecting its residents,” added Blackwell.
American Atheists, in its brief, urged the Supreme Court to apply its existing jurisprudence on discrimination in education and reject the church’s arguments. In Bob Jones University v. United States, the Court rejected the idea that religious beliefs take precedence over the government’s interest in protecting against racial discrimination. The Court has also repeatedly explained that the government must consider the harm inflicted on others by any religious accommodation. The serious harms inflicted by religious discrimination clearly outweigh these religious schools’ interest in receiving government funds.
American Atheists’ brief in St. Mary Parish v. Roy is available here. Oral arguments will be held on November 3, 2026.
