Ninth Circuit will reconsider who a Christian homeless ministry can require employees to be
The long-running dispute between Washington state and Yakima Union Gospel Mission is returning to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Christian homeless ministry requires certain employees to share and live according to its religious beliefs. Washington’s anti-discrimination law restricts religious organizations’ ability to make some employment decisions based on sexual orientation and other protected characteristics. The legal question is how far the First Amendment’s protection of religious organizations extends beyond clergy and clearly ministerial employees. Seattle Red
This looks to be a genuinely difficult religious-liberty case.
A Christian ministry obviously shouldn’t be able to say: “We don’t hire Black people.” Slapping “religious belief” on racial discrimination wouldn’t make it legitimate.
But should a Christian ministry be forced to employ someone whose beliefs or conduct directly contradict the religious mission the organization exists to carry out?
Imagine government telling an atheist organization it must hire an evangelist to teach its worldview. Or a Muslim ministry that it must employ somebody openly hostile to Islam. Or a Christian ministry being told it must employ a satanist.
So What?
Religious organizations cannot remain meaningfully religious if government ultimately determines who qualifies to carry out their mission. This should be a slam dunk case for the Ninth Circuit to decide, right?
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