A
federal court has ruled that Christian ministries can hire or fire people based
on their religious beliefs. The decision
comes after Alyce Conlon filed suit against InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
(IVCF) after she was fired for not reconciling her marriage. Previously, she had worked as a spiritual
director for the fellowship. Conlon was
placed on paid leave so she could reconcile with her husband.
Then
in December 2011, she was fired because the organization had “not seen enough
progress.” Later, her husband filed for
divorce. Conlon
then filed suit against IVCF in 2012, claiming discrimination under the 1st
Amendment’s free exercise clause. Her
case was initially dismissed, but Conlon appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Christian News Network reports the court
upheld the ruling this week. “Because
IVCF is a religious organization and Conlon was a ministerial employee, IVCF’s
decision to terminate her employment cannot be challenged under federal or
state employment discrimination laws,” the three-judge panel declared. “The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses
do not permit federal or state courts to adjudicate such matters when the
defendant properly asserts the ministerial exception as an affirmative
defense.”
Said
Alliance Defending Freedom: “As the Sixth Circuit affirmed, the ability of
faith-based groups to make employment decisions consistent with the very faith
they espouse is a ‘structural limitation imposed on the government by the
Religion Clauses [of the 1st Amendment], a limitation that can never be waived,’”
Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker said in a statement. “The court was right to recognize that this
freedom extends to groups beyond just those that are directly run by churches
and denominations.”
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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