In a recent opinion piece published in the New York Post, Dr. Phil McGraw, the well-known television personality, shared his thoughts on a significant case argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The case challenges the long-held interpretation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and could potentially allow states greater freedom in enacting religious policies.
Dr. Phil began by quoting the opening words of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
He asserted that while the meaning of these words seems clear, their interpretation has often led to the belief that government and religion must be entirely separate – a notion he argues was not the original intent.
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Drawing attention to the arguments presented before the Supreme Court, Dr. Phil highlighted the perspective that the Establishment Clause was primarily intended to shield states from federal interference in matters of religion.
He cited Justice Joseph Story, a highly respected legal figure from the 19th century, who in 1833 wrote that the clause’s “real object” was to prevent a “national ecclesiastical establishment,” leaving authority over religion “exclusively to the state governments.”
Dr. Phil then pointed to a pivotal 1947 Supreme Court ruling that extended the limitations of the Establishment Clause to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. He quoted the amendment’s guarantee that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”
Echoing Senator Mike Lee’s sentiments from his book “Our Lost Constitution,” Dr. Phil noted the irony of using a clause designed to protect state religious laws to instead invalidate them.
The op-ed reflected on the history of this interpretation, focusing on Justice Hugo Black, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. Dr. Phil highlighted the controversial claim that Justice Black incorporated the Klan’s objective of eliminating Catholic parochial schools into his Supreme Court opinion, which prohibited the use of state funds for even the non-religious expenses of such schools. Dr. Phil called this opinion and Justice Black’s presence on the court an “embarrassment” to the judiciary.
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The case currently before the Supreme Court originates from Oklahoma and centers on the legality of state funding for a Catholic virtual charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Dr. Phil argued that Justice Black’s precedent has created a “bizarre” situation that the court has been gradually dismantling. He posed the question of whether the current court will seize this opportunity to more broadly correct this precedent.
Dr. Phil cited statements made by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito during Wednesday’s arguments. Justice Kavanaugh reportedly stated that religious individuals and institutions should not be treated as “second class,” while Justice Alito described Oklahoma’s ban on religious public schools as having an “unsavory discriminatory history.”
Concluding his opinion, Dr. Phil emphasized the potential impact of the court’s decision on students, particularly those in rural Oklahoma seeking educational opportunities through schools like St. Isidore. He urged the court to give school choice, including charter schools, “a real chance,” framing it as a potential solution to the perceived failures of the public school system.
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Dr. Phil, who founded the MeritTV network in 2024 and hosts “Dr. Phil Primetime,” has personal ties to Oklahoma, having been born there and attended elementary and middle school in the state. His strong stance on this issue adds another voice to the ongoing debate surrounding religious freedom, state rights, and the future of education in the United States.
The Supreme Court’s decision in this case will undoubtedly have significant implications for the relationship between government, religion, and education across the nation.
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