Christian organizations should be free to hire people who actually share their Christian beliefs and mission.
That basic principle is at the center of a case involving Yakima Union Gospel Mission in Washington. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represents the ministry.
The ministry sued in 2023 after the state’s highest court interpreted anti-discrimination law in a way that could force religious organizations to employ people who reject their beliefs.
A federal court temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the law against the ministry while the lawsuit moved forward.
In January, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling. The panel said the ministry was likely to succeed in arguing that the First Amendment protects its right to hire people who share its faith.
But Washington wanted the full court to decide. The Ninth Circuit agreed in June to hear the case and vacated the three-judge panel’s opinion. The court heard arguments on Tuesday.
“The government has no business deciding who is religiously qualified to serve,” said Kristen Waggoner, ADF CEO, president, and chief counsel. “A Christian ministry shouldn’t be forced to hire an atheist to carry out its religious mission any more than a synagogue should be forced to hire a Buddhist.”
The state can’t force a Christian ministry to hire people who don’t share the Christian beliefs at the heart of its mission.
