Tuesday, October 10, 2006

"Where Faith Abides, Employees Have Few Rights"

The New York Times reports on how the law and the First Amendment affect the relationship between religious organizations and their employees:
"As a rule, state and federal judges will handle any lawsuit that is filed in the right place in an appropriate, timely manner. But judges will almost never agree to hear a controversy that would require them to delve into the doctrines, governance, discipline or hiring preferences of any religious faith. Citing the protections of the First Amendment, they have ruled with great consistency that congregations cannot fully express their faith and exercise their religious freedom unless they are free to select their own spiritual leaders without any interference from government agencies or second-guessing by the courts."
With any freedom comes responsibility. And especially for Christians there is the necessity to act with integrity and love toward those who work for the Church.

1 comment:

  1. Well, the Times is staying true to it's form. They have never had any great love for religious faith in the public sphere. The implication of the article is obvious: that the snobish Christians don't want to play by the same rules as everyone else when it comes to their employees. Unfortunately, their criticisms, in this case, seem to have some foundation. When the church fails to treat it's own people and employees with the kind of love that Christ commands, these kinds of abhorrent things occur. Unfortunately, the push to curtail the rights of churches with respect to hiring and firing and other rights gains steam with these kinds of exposes.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated. I will gladly approve any comment that responds directly and politely to what has been posted.