The teaching of critical race theory, the creation of religious strife and other concerns surfaced Wednesday as a divided U.S. Supreme Court leaned toward striking down a Maine tuition assistance program that excludes religious schools.

The two-hour arguments on Carson v. Makin reflected a familiar ideological division on a court that recently has favored religious liberty claims in a host of areas—from exemptions for religious employers to federal job bias laws to rejection of government attempts to manage the coronavirus pandemic. The court’s conservative wing seemed skeptical of Maine’s arguments that it was not discriminating on the basis of religion.