Church-state separation extends to religious schools, Supreme Court rules

UNITED STATES
The Kansas City Star

By DAVID G. SAVAGE
Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court gave churches and religious schools a new shield against civil rights claims from their employees, ruling Wednesday that the principle of church-state separation bars bias suits from teachers who serve as “ministers” of the faith.

In a unanimous ruling, the high court for the first time held the Constitution includes a “ministerial exception” that protects churches and their schools from undue interference from the government and its courts.

The First Amendment protects the “free exercise” of religion, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said “the state infringes” on this religious freedom if it forces a church or its schools to accept or retain “an unwanted minister. … The church must be free to choose those who will guide it on its way.”

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