UNITED STATES
America Magazine
Posted at: Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Author: Kevin Clarke
The U.S. bishops were more than pleased with today’s unanimous Supreme Court ruling in the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC. In a groundbreaking decision that had been anxiously anticipated by religious bodies across the country, the court held that a “ministerial exception” to antidiscrimination laws means that religious employees of a church cannot sue for employment discrimination. The notion of a “ministerial exception” had been developed in lower court decisions; the exception means that the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion shields churches and their operations from the reach of protective federal laws when the issue involves employees of these institutions.
“The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important,” Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote for the court. “But so too is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith, and carry out their mission.” Roberts said allowing anti-discrimination lawsuits against religious organizations could end up forcing churches to take religious leaders they no longer want.
“Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs,” Roberts said. “By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes the Free Exercise Clause, which protects a religious group’s right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments.”
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