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Constitutional Law — Free Exercise Clause — religious schools

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//January 11, 2012//

Constitutional Law — Free Exercise Clause — religious schools

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//January 11, 2012//

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U.S. Supreme Court

Civil

Constitutional Law — Free Exercise Clause — religious schools

The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment bar suits brought on behalf of ministers against their churches, claiming termination in violation of employment discrimination laws.

Since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other employment discrimination laws, the Courts of Appeals have uniformly recognized the existence of a “ministerial exception,” grounded in the First Amendment, that precludes application of such legislation to claims concerning the employment relationship between a religious institution and its ministers. The Court agrees that there is such a ministerial exception. Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. 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. 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. According the state the power to determine which individuals will minister to the faithful also violates the Establishment Clause, which prohibits government involvement in such ecclesiastical decisions.

597 F. 3d 769, reversed.

10-557 Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC

Roberts, C. J.; Thomas, J., concurring; Alito, J., concurring.

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