Federal Judge blocks IVF and abortion protections at Catholic employers nation-wide

[SnoopRob]

So does that mean I should be able to not allow time off to my employees who are Carholic and want to attend a religious function since I think Catholicism is immoral?

It would seem by the same reasoning that I should be able to.

I wouldn't and I don't think I should be able to, but anyone who works for me likely knows my position on the Catholic Church and therefore should have the expectation of following roughly my beliefs about it? Is that what you're saying?

Unless your business is specifically a religious organization, I wouldn't see why you would have those protections. To be clear, that cuts both ways in that I don't think any business should be able to discriminate "for religious reasons" unless the organization is explicitly religious in their mission and the work they perform. So while you can't discriminate against Catholics wanting to go to mass, neither should Chick-fil-A be able to discriminate against folks who aren't Christian nor should they be able to hold their employees to "Christian" standards.

However, it seems to me as if the 1A protections of religious practice should extend to the employment practices of explicitly religious bodies in performing the religious mission of the organization in ways that would not apply to any other business.

 

[superrific]

However, it seems to me as if the 1A protections of religious practice should extend to the employment practices of explicitly religious bodies in performing the religious mission of the organization in ways that would not apply to any other business.

1. So by "explicitly religious bodies," do you mean the church part of the Catholic church or everything owned by it?
2. If it's the latter, then basically the 1A is giving Catholic hospitals an economic advantage over secular hospitals. Same with Mormon radio stations or whatever the hell else that Church owns. I don't think that's what the 1A is about.

I think we should think about it in terms of functionality. Can you sell a church to a secular buyer? Not really -- it's no longer a church. Can you sell a Catholic hospital to a secular buyer? Yes you can, quite easily in fact. So the hospital is a business and it doesn't matter whether it's "Catholic." I very much doubt the Supremes will accept this obvious distinction. Thomas is already on record saying that he will extend religious employment protections basically to any Christian who claims it.

3. Even if we're only talking about employment at the churches themselves, it doesn't make sense unless other organizations can discriminate *against* Christians. If I'm running an atheist spiritual organization, then I should have the same right to exclude as the Christian churches. Again. I have my doubts that the current Supreme Court will ever honor that parity, even though it is firmly established in decades of law. Kav etc love to say atheism is just a religion, except when the atheists want 1A benefits (as opposed to just 1A rights of expression).

 

[BlooVooDoo]

Expanding ministerial exception is troubling enough IMO. Doing so for institutions that have a strict, rigorous process for earning the credentials necessary to serve as a minister is particularly irritating.
If a divorced woman with a GED who works as a teacher’s aid in your parochial school can’t be a minister in your church, you shouldn’t get to claim ministerial exception when you fire her for getting pregnant.