I went to the article, expecting it to be about a pastor or other religious personage that was fired for being an atheist - which is reasonable to me, since the pastor couldn't be expected to teach what he didn't believe.

Instead, it's about a teacher fired in violation of the ADA for having Narcolepsy - and that's not right. I can see allowing a religious defense for firing teachers or ministers for religious reasons, but not a religious reason to fire someone for ADA reasons (unless they were treating something in violation of the beliefs of the church, see: Church of Christ, Scientist). So this is yet another BS decision that has been handed down.

DarnoKonrad: "But the high court found that Perich's was properly classified as a "minister," meaning she falls within the "ministerial exemption" from many employment laws."



Nonsense. The farking lady was a teacher.

At a private school, even the "secular" teachers teach religious subjects. I think classifying her as a minister is perfectly reasonable.

I *don't* think that this is what the ministerial exception was designed to be applied to.

So basically this is like calling cashiers "assistant managers" so they are exempt from FLSA and you don't have to pay overtime? Classify everyone as a minister and you can Fark them over. Very Christian.

Farking churches. Biggest farking scam ever. Bilking the masses and the government for centuries.

Exception Collection: Instead, it's about a teacher fired in violation of the ADA for having Narcolepsy - and that's not right

You can't have teachers having sex with dead people and then coming to school the next day and interacting with children.

Think of the children

Jesus always preached "fire the sick".

She wasn't just a teacher, she was also a minister of some variety in that specific church. The optics of the case suck for the church in question, as the right thiong to do was to hold her job for her.

But on the judicial merits, the SCOTUS made the right call. In the long run, this ruling can be referenced as an affirmation by the court of the separation of church and state as a far reaching statue that ties the hands of both churches as well as the government to intervene in each others' business. A ruling to the contrary here could have opened a pandoras box of sorts - opening the door for states to try and control religious expression, and churches to make harder pushes to enshrine their beliefs as secular laws.

A Fark Handle: if they were firing her because she was supposed to be keeping her teaching in line with their religious beliefs and she refused/disobeyed that would be one thing, but using the ministerial exception to side-step the ADA is iffy at best.

Not if the Supreme Court says it's legal. That's pretty much the end of it.

Cajnik: You can't have teachers having sex with dead people and then coming to school the next day and interacting with children.

Think of the children

NARCO not NECRO you sick... oh, nvm, I see what you did there.

A Fark Handle: if they were firing her because she was supposed to be keeping her teaching in line with their religious beliefs and she refused/disobeyed that would be one thing, but using the ministerial exception to side-step the ADA is iffy at best.

Bingo!

Examples of "secular" religious teaching that would (imo) qualify them for ministerhood:

At the private HS I attended, the history class concentrated on things like the Reformation and the Roman Empire, and included discussions of how Luther was right to condemn the Catholics.

In English, we concentrated on reference books for the Bible and on reading popular religious authors. CS Lewis and Jonathan Swift were featured, for example.

In Spanish, we learned bible verses for the week in Spanish. I still remember one of them well enough to quote, even though I haven't studied or used Spanish in almost two decades.

In Math.... well, OK, math wasn't very religious.

In Science, we discussed how God's plan was obvious because of the way everything worked perfectly together.

DarnoKonrad: I think it's ad-hoc nonsense to fire her disabled ass. They weren't calling her a 'minister' before. I can understand SCOTUS not wanting to define religious jobs as a violation of the 1st Amendment, but jesus christ this is transparently a point of convenience to circumvent the law.

Well, yes, but I rather agree with the above poster about the ruling being reasonable given the law.

What they need to do is ask Congress to rewrite the law so that this shiat doesn't happen, but it still allows for the release of ministers for violating religious teachings.

I guess they put the fear of God into her

Damn...I was hoping the government would get to be in charge of deciding who gets to be a minister of a church and who doesn't....It that's not what our forefathers fought and died for, after all...

Hobodeluxe: see this is why unions are still needed.

A religious union? Isn't that marriage?

A Fark Handle: vpb: A Fark Handle: if they were firing her because she was supposed to be keeping her teaching in line with their religious beliefs and she refused/disobeyed that would be one thing, but using the ministerial exception to side-step the ADA is iffy at best.

Not if the Supreme Court says it's legal. That's pretty much the end of it.

even though they maybe the final arbitrator, that doesn't mean they're infallible. it's pretty much the end, but that doesn't make the court right. see a lot of their recent bullshiat, or dred scott.

I mean legally. The Supreme court has no power to enforce it's rulings, so they depend on the executive branch to enforce them. If people stop respecting their decisions who knows what will happen.

Link (new window)

hitchking:

But why the hell should they be exempted from parts of the ADA that require employers to behave decently towards their employees with medical disabilities?

Everyone knows Jesus hated the sick and crippled.

I submitted this story with a less sarcastic headline.

/Disappointed the SCOTUS was 8-0 against the woman.
//Ruling the First Amendment trumps the Fourteenth Amendment.

At the school, there are called teachers (she was one of those) and lay teachers. Called teachers have the title "Minister of Religion, Commissioned" and must fulfill certain academic/religious requirements in order to get this title. They are always chosen above the "lay" teachers. She taught many subjects, including religion, would lead the class in prayer, and would even lead the chapel services twice a year.

The supreme court made the right call.

You've got to wonder what kind of messed up version of the bible this place is teaching kids that would be consistent with their willingness to destroy the families of the sick while using religious freedom as a cover for it. Then again, I suppose like most "evangelicals," they probably haven't actually bothered to read the bible.

The Beatitudes, how do they work?

Hobodeluxe: see this is why unions are still needed.

You're kidding, right? There are no unions in religious schools and never will be. When you go for the job you're told the deal up front and you can take it or leave it. Ironically, in the entire time that I went to Catholic school no teachers were fired, they performed well, and maybe one or two left per year. Care to contrast that with the chaos that is a public school?

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Because they all deserved to die