State Sued for Giving Funds to Church Groups
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit accusing state officials of giving gambling proceeds to religious groups in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.
The Build Indiana fund’s records show $50,000 was awarded to a Roman Catholic high school; $125,000 to a private Catholic college; and $25,000 to a group in Marion that stages an Easter pageant depicting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the group said.
The Indiana Constitution prohibits state spending on “any religious or theological institution.”
The lawsuit was filed last month in Marion Superior Court.
State Rep. Eric Turner, a Marion Republican who obtained the money for the Easter pageant, saw no problem with the grant.
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