The Center Files Brief To Protect Churches' and Religious Schools' Hiring Decisions 

June 20, 2011

Today CLS's Center for Law and Religious Freedom filed an amici brief in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC to protect the right of religious schools to employ the teachers who will best convey faith to students --  without governmental interference.

The brief reminds the Supreme Court that every religious community is a mere generation away from extinction.  Teachers in religious schools are commonly on the front line of conveying the faith to children.  Given our nation's deeply rooted commitments to religious freedom and church-state separation, an employment-related lawsuit in a civil court is not a permissible vehicle for second-guessing a religious community's decision about who should be responsible for teaching religious belief to the next generation. 

The brief was written by a team of renowned religious liberty experts:  Professor Tom Berg of St. Thomas School of Law (Minneapolis); Professor Rick Garnett of Notre Dame Law School; and Professor Carl Esbeck of University of Missouri School of Law.  Holly Hollman and Melissa Rogers, co-counsel for Baptist Joint Committee, contributed to the brief's excellence as well.  The outstanding brief may be read here.

Joining CLS's brief as co-amici are the National Association of Evangelicals, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the National Council of Churches, the Queens Federation of Churches, and Professor Eugene Volokh of UCLA School of Law.

The issue of whether the government may veto churches' and religious schools' employment decisions is a vital one.