The Supreme Court is seen at sunset in Washington, on Jan. 24, 2019. (Scott Applewhite/AP) The Supreme Court has agreed to consider how much protection church schools have from government intervention when it comes to choosing teachers for its religion classes. The top court agreed ( pdf ) on Wednesday to weigh in on two religious school employment cases where two Californian Catholic elementary schools were sued for job discrimination when they did not renew the teachers’ contracts. The court has consolidated the two cases. It will be the second religious school case to test the boundaries for the separation of church and state in the court this term. The Supreme Court has already agreed to hear another dispute on the legality of a Montana law that bars religious schools from receiving scholarships funded by public money . The schools, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, are relying on a 2012 “ministerial exception” principle, which says the First Amendment allows religious schools to choose their own religion teachers. According to the religious rights law firm, the exception protects the freedom of religious groups to choose “ministerial” employees without interference from bureaucrats or courts. “If courts can second-guess […]
