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October 3, 2011
Supreme Court Won't Hear World Vision Hiring Case
Court lets stand a decision allowing employment decisions based on belief.
Among today's many Supreme Court actions, the justices opted not to hear Sylvia Spencer et al v. World Vision, a case that had potentially significant implications for religious organizations' hiring practices.
The Supreme Court's denial of certiorari lets stand an August 2010 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of World Vision and against three employees who were fired after the organization concluded that they did not believe that Jesus Christ is fully God.
"Today's action by the U.S. Supreme Court represents a major victory for the freedom of all religious organizations to hire employees who share the same faith--whether Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, or any other religion," World Vision U.S. president Richard Stearns said in a press release. "I am pleased, relieved and gratified with the court's action. After four years of litigation, we at World Vision U.S. may now put this matter behind us, and continue our policy of hiring Christians."
The denial brings an end to the World Vision lawsuit, but the issue of religious-based hiring will be one of the key issues before the Supreme Court this year. One of the key questions in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, which the court will consider on Wednesday, is whether an elementary school teacher can be considered a ministerial employee.
The question in the World Vision case was slightly different: at issue was less the "ministerial exemption" of the 1964 Civil Rights Act than a 1972 amendment to the act said churches and religious corporations and associations could use faith-based criteria in hiring. In the World Vision case, all sides agreed that the nature of the firings were religious, but the fired employees argued that World Vision was not truly religious since its work was humanitarian rather than religious, and not significantly different from groups like the Red Cross.
In the Hosanna-Tabor case, all the sides agree that the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church school is religious, but disagree on whether the employee, who was dismissed for issues related to her narcolepsy, was a ministerial employee. The congregation that runs the school argues that she was, noting that her duties included leading prayer, devotions, and religious studies.
In its World Vision decision, the 9th Circuit Court ruled that an organization is religious if it has a self-identified religious purpose, acts consistently with those purposes, and promotes itself publicly as religious. But the court did not rule on whether World Vision’s humanitarian work is religious. "Making that determination, the court said, "runs counter to the core of the constitutional guarantee against religious establishment."
Comments
This is very good news. However, the ruling is a potential double edge sword.
If the Christian organisation begins to adopt traditions that are in direct conflict with the truth of Jesus' words, then the organisation's leadership may feel emboldened to expel those who choose the words of Jesus over the organisation's traditions.
Much of this risk can be reduced if the Church will embrace the Ministry of Recalibration, which, together with the Ministry of Reconciliation, are essential minstries that Jesus taught.
Posted By: Walter | October 3, 2011 8:26 PM
Walter said:
"If the Christian organization begins to adopt traditions that are in direct conflict with the truth of Jesus' words, then the organization's leadership may feel emboldened to expel those who choose the words of Jesus over the organization's traditions."
Have You read Foxes book of Martyrs? Or considered the basic Biblical reading of Jesus's: "Do this in remembrance of Me" was referring to Passover? the most recorded date in the Bible! The date Jesus was crucified! not a "adopted traditional" weekly or monthly bread and wine ceremony.
Does Your "Ministry of Recalibration" include recalibrating our week to celebrate God's Sabbath(the one He told us to remember), instead of calling the day of the sun god Baal, the "Christian" Sabbath?
Posted By: Theophile | October 3, 2011 10:13 PM
I think it's great that we take a stand and unit for our Lord Jesus Christ. When one doesn't believe that Jesus Christ is fully God. Sweetheart you aren't a Christian. To be a Christian you must be born again. To be born again you must repent of your sins. Then you receive the Comforter/Help the Holy Spirit that God the Father gives us upon repenting. We are then made of "One" the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Why...because Christ died on the Cross for you, your grandparents your kids and your famlies like the rest of this world do not deserve. Giving us the Holy Spirit for we can not live on the evil earth without him. The Lord Loves everyone...but not your habits of this world. To get to our Father you must go through his son Jesus Christ. People believe there is a devil and find his ways easier. When you have problems the Lord is giving you a warning. Repent before he returns soon. Too bad someone didn't share the Gospel with you three. Could of been a win win victory! Praise God for a Victory! JESUS LIVES YES HE DOES!
Posted By: Cooker | October 3, 2011 10:49 PM
Hiring, depends on what purpose the Institution Or Organization is engaged in.
Posted By: abey | October 4, 2011 9:37 AM
It is also interesting that this came from the 9th circuit of appeals, which has traditionally been bashed by some Christians.
Posted By: Andy | October 4, 2011 5:25 PM
Hi Theophile:
God said that we should listen to Jesus, and Jesus said that He spoke the words of God. Jesus also indicated that His words were vulnerable to manipulation. That is why He restored the Ministry of Recalibration, whic he also called His "Father's Business". Before Jesus was crucified, He told His Father that He had completed the work which God gave Him to do. What do you think that this work was?
Hi Cooker:
I think that you need to compare your traditions with what Jesus actually said.
Regards.
Posted By: Walter | October 4, 2011 9:58 PM
The problem with this non-ruling and the "ministerial exemption" in general is when leadership of a particular denomination abuses (spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc.) the clergy below them. We all know it happens, but because of the exemption those ministers have no recourse here on earth.
Posted By: Dave C | October 5, 2011 8:43 AM
Even though we need to put our trust in our Lord to see us though it is so important we keep in mind that we have the vote. These judges are appointed. Hopefully we will have judges in the future who will support our rights as Christians. I have had many conversations with co workers who think Churches and any Christian organization be forced to hire the best person keeping in mind affirmative action and that faith need not be considered. These people who believe these things are decent fair minded but don't see the importance we place on our faith. Most of these people see our faith is a way to act and of course we see our faith as a way to live. Corky
Posted By: Charles ''Corky'' Riley | October 7, 2011 12:52 PM
Hello to you Andy: According to the article it states:
...three employees who were fired after the organization concluded that "THEY DID NOT BELIEVE" that Jesus Christ is fully God.
Heres an example of fully:
While there have been many theological disputes over the nature of Jesus over the earliest centuries of Christian history, Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin. As fully God, he rose to life again. According to the Bible, "God raised him from the dead,"[37] he ascended to heaven, is "seated at the right hand of the Father"[38] and will ultimately return[Acts 1:9–11] to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and final establishment of the Kingdom of God.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:3
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Luke 13:3
Thank you Andy for wanting more.
Posted By: cooker | October 14, 2011 8:52 AM
Stanley Carlson-Thies, Executive Director of the Insitutional Religious Freedom Alliance, reports the court refused to hear the Spencer v World Vision case out of the Ninth Circuit Court.
“When the First Amendment declared that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,’ it meant that churches would support themselves and control themselves. And the separation of church and state is a two-way street: It protects the autonomy of religious institutions from governmental interference no less than it prevents advancement of religion by government power.”
In the case, Spencer v. World Vision, the federal court in Seattle, and then the Ninth Circuit–twice–ruled that World Vision, though engaged in humanitarian work, was authentically a religious organization and thus covered under the religious exemption of Title VII of the 1964 Civil rights Act. Thus it was within its rights to fire three employees who decided that they no longer were committed to World Vision’s religious beliefs.
The fired employees claimed that World Vision was essentially a secular humanitarian organization, not a religious organization. By choosing not to take up this case, the US Supreme Court lets stand the contrary view: an organization does not cease to be a religious organization just because it serves the poor and hungry in material ways and doesn’t confine its help to prayer and religious teaching.
Posted By: Cooker | October 14, 2011 9:58 AM