Supreme Court to hear arguments on funding religious education.(Chicago Tribune)

Byline: Jan Crawford Greenburg

WASHINGTON _ Joshua Davey had been a freshman at a Christian college in Washington state for all of two months when he got the unwelcome news: State officials were yanking away a scholarship he'd been counting on to help pay for his first year.

It wasn't poor grades or misconduct that cost Davey the scholarship, but his course of study: Davey had declared a major in pastoral ministry, and state officials concluded they couldn't use taxpayer money to help finance his religious training.

Given the option of changing his major or giving up the scholarship, Davey walked away from the two-year state Promise Scholarship, which he had received based on his grades and family income. But he also contacted a public interest law firm about pursuing legal action against the state, kicking off a four-year battle that will reach the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

"I really felt it was an injustice," said Davey, 23, now a first-year student at Harvard Law School. "The kind of reasons I wanted to go into the ministry _ to benefit society, help other people _ are exactly the kind of things the government should be encouraging."

But the issues in the case go far beyond whether Davey will be reimbursed for the scholarship, which amounted to $1,125 his first year. Many observers say the case has the potential to bolster state school voucher programs as well, because a ruling in Davey's favor could remove barriers to including religious schools in those programs.

"There are a lot of students in Josh Davey's situation _ where they've met the criteria, had excellent grades and needed economic help, yet were denied the ability to go to religious schools because of the religious affiliation," said Jay Sekulow, the chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, who will argue on Davey's behalf Tuesday.