Hopefully, your Catholic school or college has done all it can to protect itself from legal threats. It has adopted clear and consistent policies and employment resources, explaining its devotion and obligations to your Catholic mission. It\u2019s done its best to avoid misunderstandings and head off lawsuits by students and employees.<\/p>\n
But in today\u2019s secular and often hostile culture\u2014in which even many Catholics seem confused about topics like abortion, contraception, marriage, sexuality, and gender\u2014discrimination lawsuits are bound to happen. And their frequency is likely to increase in the coming years.<\/p>\n
So how does Catholic education defend itself in court?<\/p>\n
During The Cardinal Newman Society\u2019s recent three-part webinar series, Protecting Religious Freedom in Catholic Education<\/em>, Luke Goodrich, a vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law, shared five key legal defenses available to Catholic educators. None is sufficient in itself, but together they offer powerful protection<\/p>\n According to Goodrich, the ministerial exception bars federal courts from interfering in a church\u2019s choice of its ministers. Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government has no business telling a religious organization who\u2019s going to fill a \u201cministerial\u201d role, including teaching the Catholic faith. If an employee of a Catholic school or college has substantial religious functions, the institution may be shielded from that employee\u2019s discrimination lawsuit, according to the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s rulings in Our Lady of Guadalupe School vs. Morrissey-Berru<\/em> (2020) and Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. EEOC<\/em> (2012). This likely does not apply to every employee.<\/p>\n Many employee lawsuits are filed under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Religious employers, however, are generally exempted from Title VII when they make employment decisions based on religion.<\/p>\n This is especially important following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County<\/em> (2020), which redefined sex discrimination to include biases against \u201csexual orientation\u201d and \u201cgender identity.\u201d To better qualify for the Title VII religious exemption, Catholic schools and colleges should give clear mission-centered reasons for their employment decisions\u2014such as the necessity of ensuring faithful Catholic instruction and formation, a teacher\u2019s willingness to teach Catholic doctrine regarding marriage and sexuality, and the importance of witnessing to Catholic moral teaching\u2014without expressing personal approval or disapproval of an employee\u2019s sexual or gender preferences and behaviors.<\/p>\n Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools and colleges that receive federal funds, also is being interpreted by the Biden administration to include \u201csexual orientation\u201d and \u201cgender identity.\u201d But Title IX has an exemption that applies broadly to religious institutions. To defend against the Administration\u2019s threats and lawsuits regarding athletics, restrooms, employment, and more, Catholic educators should be prepared to assert this exemption.<\/p>\n A near-unanimous Congress approved the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to ensure that, even when the government has a \u201ccompelling public interest\u201d to act in a way that impacts religious activity, it must do so in a manner that allows the greatest religious freedom. Courts have used RFRA to exempt religious organizations from federal laws\u2014such as mandated insurance coverage for contraceptives\u2014when the exemption does not substantially thwart the broad impact of the law.<\/p>\n Today some in Congress are trying to undermine RFRA. The proposed Equality Act, for instance, would remove RFRA as a protection for religious employers against the bill\u2019s provisions regarding sexuality and gender identity. According to Goodrich, the Equality Act is a legalistic Trojan horse that would coerce both individuals and religious organizations into violating their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n Federal courts prefer to resolve legal disputes by applying clear statutes rather than Constitutional claims, but Catholic educators should vigorously assert their freedom of religion. The Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment guarantee the rights of religious organizations to control their internal affairs and make important internal decisions based on their religious beliefs. Because they are religious institutions, Catholic schools and colleges have the right and obligation to uphold Catholic teachings in their policies and practices. Because their mission is religious education, Catholic schools and colleges have the right and obligation to form the minds and souls of students in accord with Catholic beliefs, including moral teachings and Christian anthropology.<\/p>\n1.<\/span> Ministerial exception<\/h3>\n
2.<\/span> Title VII religious exemption<\/h3>\n
3.<\/span> Religious Freedom Restoration Act<\/h3>\n
4.<\/span> Church autonomy<\/h3>\n
5.<\/span> Expressive association<\/h3>\n
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Beyond religious activity, the First Amendment protects free speech generally, including the right of expressive association. This means that the government cannot normally interfere with people gathering or otherwise associating to express opinion, even when that opinion may be unpopular. In Boy Scouts of America v. Dale<\/em> (2000), the U.S. Supreme Court found that a non-religious organization was nevertheless permitted to establish membership requirements forbidding homosexuality. It is important that Catholic schools and colleges not only define their mission as the task of education but also that they firmly state their purpose within the Church\u2019s own mission of evangelization. Catholic schools and colleges are communities devoted to professing the Catholic faith and preaching the salvation found only in Christ. Catholic education, therefore, has the right of association, to express a shared belief and worldview.<\/p>\n