Op-ed by Matt Edwards, Executive Director of Citizens Alliance of Idaho, and Katherine Hartley, Attorney with Pacific Justice Institute
Imagine it’s midnight and a broken gas line inside the kitchen of a local church ignites a fire that consumes the empty building as it sits alone, lighting up the night sky on the open prairie. Concerned residents call 911 to report the fire but the dispatcher tells them that an archaic provision of the Idaho constitution prevents any public funds from aiding a church. Therefore, someone else is going to have to put out that fire.
Sounds crazy, right? Think again. According to Article IX, Section 5 of the Idaho Constitution, no public funds can be used for “anything in aid” of a church or sectarian group. This sweeping language has been a discriminatory stain on the constitution of 38 states, for over 100 years and is textually inconsistent with First Amendment jurisprudence. As a U.S. Supreme Court justice asked during arguments in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, if nothing in aid can go to a church as the Blaine Amendment requires, then why can the government provide fire protection to churches?
Born from nationwide anti-Catholic prejudice in the 1870s—aimed at blocking immigrant families from using tax dollars for their schools—Idaho’s “Blaine Amendment” was never about neutrality. It was bigotry codified, targeting Catholics as our nation grappled with waves of European immigration. Modernly, state Blaine amendments are still used to discriminate against religious people in many different contexts and are generally difficult to discern when they should apply (cue example of the church on fire). This isn’t separation of church and state—it’s downright hostility toward religion.
Right here in the state of Idaho, our citizens have faced discrimination due to the utilization of the state’s Blaine Amendment. For example, Truth Family Bible Church in Middleton had its lease with a public school terminated over Blaine Amendment fears simply because it was religious. Homeschool families across the state are routinely refused curriculum reimbursement if they choose curriculum with religious overtones. Sadly, these are just a few recent examples.
It is time to repeal the Blaine Amendment, a confusing and bigoted relic of the 19th century. Idaho can lead the way, but this will require both the legislature and the voters to decide that we no longer want this kind of discrimination. Lawmakers have tried before: House Joint Resolution 1 sought voter approval to repeal it in 2024, but the resolution stalled. Let’s revive it in 2026.
Idahoans are freedom-loving people. We tamed the Wild West; we can tame this relic. Repeal the Blaine Amendment and end 19th-century bigotry once and for all.
