The First Amendment was intended to protect the church from any government interference with its rights to religious freedom.

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]



** For Immediate Release: February 13, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------


** Will the Supreme Court Prevent Government From Meddling in Church Decisions Involving Who Can Teach Religious Doctrine?
------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a case that will decide whether the government can interfere with the choices of religious institutions regarding who may minister to and lead followers on matters of faith, The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty prevents the government from meddling in church decisions involving religious doctrine ([link removed]) and who is allowed to teach that doctrine.

In an amicus brief filed with the Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Agnes Morrisey-Beru and St. James School v. Darryl Biel, ([link removed]) Institute attorneys argue that the government has no jurisdiction to second-guess church decisions on who can act and serve as “ministers.”

“Those who subscribe to the notion that society should be free from religion tend to use the principle of a separation of church and state as a bludgeon to eradicate religion from the public sphere when it fact the First Amendment provides for freedom of religion,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “In fact, the so-called ‘wall of separation between Church and State’—a term coined by Thomas Jefferson—was intended to refer to a wall placed around the church in order to protect it from any government interference with its rights to religious freedom. That is exactly the kind of shield against government meddling needed in this case.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

Our Lady of Guadalupe School and St. James School are private religious schools located in Los Angeles, California. Each is an integral part of and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and each was specifically established to serve the educational needs of the children of church families within the parishes where they are located. Their mission is to grow a Catholic faith community that reflects both a Catholic philosophy of education and the doctrines of the Catholic Church. To that end, teachers hired by the schools have expressly religious roles, even as they engage in instruction on secular topics such as math and social studies. Thus, the teachers taught daily religious classes, instructed the children in how to attend Catholic Mass, and led the children in daily prayers. Teachers at the schools have a special role of teaching children Catholic values and providing a faith-based education. In 2016, a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe filed a lawsuit against the
school alleging the school engaged in unlawful age discrimination after it did not renew the teacher’s contract when it was disappointed with her implementation of a program involving religious instruction.

In 2015, a teacher at St. James School sued the school alleging disability discrimination. Each case was thrown out by the district courts, which found that the teachers were involved in conveying the Catholic faith to students and so were “ministers” who could not sue the school or church for their non-retention. On appeals in each case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the determination that the “ministerial exception” applied to the teachers, ruling that the teachers did not have “religious leadership roles.” The U.S. Supreme Court granted the schools’ request to review the Ninth Circuit’s decisions. In its amicus brief supporting the schools, The Rutherford Institute argues that the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses forbid court interference with a church’s decision on who will teach about its faith, and courts should treat the matter as a limit on their jurisdiction ([link removed]
urt_to_prevent_government_from_meddling_in_church_decisions_involving_who_can_teach_religious_doctrine) and defer to the church’s decision of who is a “minister.”

Affiliate attorney Nathan A. Adams IV of Holland & Knight assisted The Rutherford Institute in advancing the arguments in the amicus brief ([link removed]) in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Agnes Morrisey-Beru and St. James School v. Darryl Biel,

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated.

Source: [link removed]
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fwill-the-supreme-court-prevent-the-government-from-meddling-in-church-decisions-involving-who-can-teach-religious-doctrine Tweet ([link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fwill-the-supreme-court-prevent-the-government-from-meddling-in-church-decisions-involving-who-can-teach-religious-doctrine)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ([link removed])

To donate via PayPal, please click below:
[link removed]

============================================================
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2020 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

Under the regulations of the United States Internal Revenue Service, The Rutherford Institute is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Donations to support The Rutherford Institute’s legal and educational work help to safeguard the constitutional rights of all Americans. Donations are tax-deductible. In compliance with general industry standards of a nonprofit organization, the Institute is audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

** update subscription preferences ([link removed])