Court Upholds Government Funds To YMCA

In Conley v. Jackson Twp. Trustees, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9860 (N.D. Ohio, 4/14/2005), which became available today, a U.S. District Court rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to government funding of a local YMCA. Jackson Township, Ohio gave the YMCA annual grants, office space and it allocated $1 million toward the Y's new building. The court held that the YMCA is not a pervasively sectarian institution and that there is no evidence that the government aid funds specifically religious activities of the organization.