Can a Religious Organization Discriminate Against its Employees?

If an employer fired a female employee for getting divorced, but did not fire two male employees who also got divorced, this would almost certainly be illegal, right? This clearly violates state laws prohibiting discrimination based on marital status, or federal laws prohibiting gender discrimination, does it not? Well, if the employer is a religious organization, the answer is actually probably not. As a woman in Michigan recently discovered, religious organizations can fire employees for reasons that would otherwise be illegal.

Last Thursday, a federal appeals court held that it is not illegal for a religious organization to discriminate against certain employees. The court held that the “ministerial exception” to employment laws holds that it is not illegal for a religious organization to fire an employee who is a “minister” based on that person’s gender, marital status, race, disability, or any other protected category.

The case involved a woman who worked for a non-denominational Christian group which promoted Christianity on college campuses and attempted to teach college students about Christian values. The woman worked as a spiritual director, whose duties including “assisting others to cultivate intimacy with God and growth in Christ-like character through personal and corporate spiritual decisions.”

In accordance with the group’s policies, the woman notified it that she was having marital difficulties, and was considering divorce. The group forced her to take leave, paid at first but later unpaid, to attempt to resolve her marital troubles. When these efforts failed, the group fired the woman.

Soon after, the woman sued, alleging the group discriminated against her because of her gender, as she was fired for getting a divorce while two of her male co-workers who also got divorced were not. She also alleged that Michigan law made it illegal for the group to fire her for getting divorced.

The court, however, disagreed, and dismissed the woman’s lawsuit. The court held that laws prohibiting employment discrimination did not apply to “ministers” in religious organizations. The court defined a “minister” as someone whose job included spreading the religious message of the organization. In order to determine whether an employee is a “minister,” the court examined the employee’s title, job duties, and the employee’s role in the religious organization.

Here, because the woman was a spiritual director, and worked to promote Christianity, the court held that she was a minister. As such, she was not protected by federal or state employment discrimination laws. The court held that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from deciding which ministers a religious organization can hire and fire. As a result, the court was not permitted to enforce employment discrimination laws against religious organizations, as doing so would violate the First Amendment.

Ultimately, this ruling shows the often difficult position of employees of religious organizations. If these employees are classified as “ministers,” they cannot have the same expectation of privacy as employees for non-religious organizations. Employees of religious organizations must realize that they can be fired for personal conduct that does not conform to the religious organization’s message. Moreover, the definition of a “minister” can be fairly broad. The Supreme Court recently found a teacher at a religious organization to be a “minister.” Those considering working for a religious organization must take this into consideration when deciding whether to accept the position.