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Making The Anomalous Even More Anomalous: On Hosanna-Tabor, The Ministerial Exception, And The Constitution, Mark Strasser
Making The Anomalous Even More Anomalous: On Hosanna-Tabor, The Ministerial Exception, And The Constitution, Mark Strasser
Mark Strasser
In Hosanna–Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Court held that the First Amendment incorporates the ministerial exception and, further, found that the plaintiff fell within that exception and so could not press her claim. However, courts and commentators hoping for clarification of Religion Clauses jurisprudence more generally or even for a firm constitutional grounding of the ministerial exception may well be disappointed. The Court has raised more questions than it has answered, and has provided such little helpful guidance to the lower courts that Hosanna-Tabor is likely to lead to greater confusion in the …
Sacred Disputes? On The Ministerial Exception And The Constitution, Mark Strasser
Sacred Disputes? On The Ministerial Exception And The Constitution, Mark Strasser
Mark Strasser
Federal courts have long been hearing church disputes, for example, concerning conflicting claims regarding the rightful possession and use of church property. However, there is no clear understanding concerning the contours of the constitutional limitations on the courts when one of the parties in interest is a religious organization. The conflicting jurisprudence may be clarified in the 2011-2012 term when the Court hears and decides Hosanna–Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, although there is reason to be pessimistic that this will happen. This article lays out the relevant jurisprudence as presented by the United States …