A split U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education.

With only eight justices voting, the 4-4 tie leaves in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that a public religious charter school would violate the separation of church and state.

The Supreme Court's justices blocked the creation of the nation's first religious charter school on May 22, reigniting ongoing debates about the separation of church and state in the United States. The justices' split 4-4 decision meant a lower court ruling would stand.