Slate Article Compares Catholic Preschools to the KKK

As Catholic preschools fight for religious freedom before the U.S. Supreme Court, the publication Slate recently published a piece attacking Catholic schools in Colorado—comparing them to the extremist bigots in the Ku Klux Klan.

The comparison is as offensive as it is misleading.

In the 1920s, motivated by hatred for Catholics, the KKK actively sought to eliminate Catholic education. Its supporters helped pass an Oregon law to ban Catholic schools entirely. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately stepped in to protect Catholic education.

Today, Catholic preschools in Colorado are fighting for fair treatment to participate in a state education program without being forced to abandon policies rooted in authentic religious beliefs.

Equating Catholic religious beliefs—borne out of love for the other to lead souls to Christ—with the hateful acts of the KKK is purposely deceptive and inflammatory.

Catholic education is meant to form young people in the truth of Jesus Christ—in faith, knowledge, wisdom, and virtue.

Americans can reasonably debate the conditions attached to public education funding.

But comparing Catholic educators defending their religious mission to the KKK trivializes an ugly chapter of anti-Catholic bigotry while distracting from serious questions about religious freedom.

The Cardinal Newman Society will continue defending the right of Catholic schools to remain authentically Catholic—whether Slate and the KKK like it or not.