In the 2003 case of Gary Locke, Governor of Washington, et al. v. Joshua Davey, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can deny public scholarship funds to students who are pursuing a degree in devotional theology or religious instruction without violating the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The state of Washington had offered scholarships to top high school graduates but excluded those studying for a career in ministry from eligibility under its Promise Scholarship Program. Joshua Davey challenged this exclusion as an infringement on his constitutional rights when he was denied funding for his pastoral studies at Northwest College (now Northwest University). In a 7-2 decision led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, it was determined that while individuals have the right to exercise their religion freely, they do not have an equivalent right to receive government subsidies for doing so.

In the dissenting opinion for Gary Locke, Governor of Washington, et al. v. Joshua Davey (2003), Justice Scalia argued that the state's denial of scholarship funds to Davey due to his pursuit of a degree in theology was not discriminatory but rather an example of the state refusing to fund religious instruction. He contended that this refusal did not violate the Free Exercise Clause as it did not prohibit any religious practice nor coerce anyone into violating their religious beliefs; instead, it merely represented a decision by the State not to subsidize religious education. Furthermore, he asserted that such decisions have been historically supported and are consistent with maintaining separation between church and state.