The next church-state showdown

Cheryl Perich was a called teacher at the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Michigan. (Called teachers, as opposed to lay teachers, are chosen by a vote of the church congregation.) She taught religion classes, led worship, and led prayer, and when teaching her fourth-graders secular subjects like science and social studies, was required to integrate faith into her teaching.

In June 2004, Perich became ill with what was eventually diagnosed as narcolepsy, with symptoms including sudden and deep sleeps from which she could not be awakened. She was unable to work for the next six months, leading the next January to the congregation voting to ask Perich to accept a ?peaceful release from her call??what the Church describes as a religious act by which a congregation and a called minister agree to release one another from the mutual obligations of the call.

Instead, on February 8, 2005, Perich obtained a doctor?s note saying that she?d be able to return to work in two weeks. The School Board responded by telling her there was no longer was an opening, and she shouldn?t return. (According to the record, a bunch of parents were afraid of Perich falling asleep in class and freaking out the kids.) She showed up anyway, not leaving until the principal gave her a note acknowledging that she had showed up. Perich told the principal that unless they reinstated her to work, she?d sue; instead, the congregation voted 40-11 to fire her for her ?insubordination and disruptive behavior? in threatening to sue. Subsequently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against the Church under the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging a single count of retaliation.

In response to the suit, the Church invoked what?s known under the law as the ?ministerial exception,? claiming that as a church it was exempt from employment discrimination laws when it comes to the hiring and firing of religious teachers, and it?s the scope of that exception which the Supreme Court of the United States will address in Perich?s case this term. (The case will be argued on Wednesday, October 5. Check StubHub for prime seating!) Below the fold, all the neat, nerdy and fascinating doctrinal details.

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/48ltATY4kTA/-The-next-church-state-showdown

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