Ninth Circuit Religious Autonomy Case

Howard Bashman is reporting on an important ruling out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:  "The dissent by Circuit Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld, in which three other Ninth Circuit judges joined, begins:

For the one of every five Americans who live in our circuit's jurisdiction, the "wall of separation" between church and state now has a gate. The gate is one-way. The government may pass through to regulate the internal affairs of a church, but the church must remain on its own side."

Here is a news story about the case:  "A church can be sued for allowing sexual harassment of one minister by another, despite constitutional protection for religious institutions' employment actions, a divided federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Friday." 

Judge Raymond Fisher said that the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom does not shield the church from "its obligation to protect its employees from harassment.'' A judge does not have to examine religious doctrine to decide whether Elvig was subjected to a hostile work environment, Fisher said.

In dissent, Judge Stephen Trott called the case "an invasion by the federal government into the church's core prerogatives and autonomy.'' He said the suit would inevitably plunge the courts into religious doctrine.

Rick