This work demonstrates structured laser illumination planar imaging (SLIPI) for Rayleigh thermometry with high background scattering. Two coherent laser beams were crossed to produce an interference pattern, from which the modulated Rayleigh signal was collected. The modulated signal serves as a signature that identifies information about Rayleigh scattering from the probe volume against additional contributions in the image from background scattering. This work shows that the structured nature of the illumination allows for a simplified background correction. The experimental approach is validated in a non-premixed methane/air flame, and the temperature is found to be in excellent agreement with previous experimental and computational results. Rayleigh SLIPI is then applied to a high background scattering application as part of the full-field temperature measurement of sooting non-premixed ethylene/air flames. For these flames, standard Rayleigh background corrections are impossible since scattering from soot just outside the field of view is the main source of the background. Good agreement is found between SLIPI and intensity-ratio thin-filament pyrometry-derived temperature along their adjoining interface in the flame.