Yesterday, Oct. 5, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in one of the most important church-state First Amendment cases in decades.
“Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,” concerns an LCMS congregation and school and an LCMS commissioned minister who taught at the school.
The case centers on an employment dispute between Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich., and Cheryl Perich, dismissed in 2005 for “insubordination and disruptive conduct in violation of church teaching,” according to Hosanna-Tabor’s brief filed with the Supreme Court.
Perich sued the congregation for disability discrimination, claiming the church rescinded her call as a commissioned minister because of her narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that typically causes excessive daytime sleepiness. The teacher later dropped her discrimination claim and now says only that the church retaliated against her for making the original claim.
The following links offer insight into yesterday’s oral arguments. Anticipate an additional in-depth perspective in the November print Reporter.
To read a news release from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is co-counsel representing Hosanna-Tabor, click here.
To read a story from World magazine, click here.
To watch a video report produced by the PBS series Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, click here.
For a transcript of the oral arguments before the court (subject to final review), click here.
Posted Oct. 6, 2011/Updated Oct. 9, 2011/Updated Oct. 10, 2011
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