CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Vashti McCollum, the plaintiff in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case on religion in public schools, has died at 93 Champaign, Ill.
McCollum challenged the religious education classes in the Champaign public schools. Her son, James, then in fifth grade, was required to attend a class against his will.
In her lawsuit, McCollum argued that the classes were discriminatory because those for Protestants were held at the schools while classes for Catholics and Jews were held elsewhere. She lost in the state courts but won an 8-1 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The First Amendment rests upon the premise that both religion and government can best work to achieve their lofty aims if each is left free from the other in its respective sphere," Justice Hugo Black wrote, establishing the principle that freedom of religion means more than treating all religions equally, The New York Times reportsed.
