Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that Alabama has joined a Virginia-led coalition of 22 states in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The filing defends the constitutional right of religious organizations to determine their own missions and employment practices without interference from secular courts.
At issue is a Maryland law prohibiting employment discrimination, which contains an exemption for religious organizations. The Maryland Supreme Court recently narrowed the exemption, ruling it only applies to employees who “directly further” a religious group’s “core mission.” Critics argue that such an interpretation forces secular courts to define a faith’s mission and decide which employees are essential to it.
“Courts have no business telling a church what its ‘core mission’ is. That role belongs to the religious community alone, as the Founders understood when they enshrined religious liberty in the Constitution,” Marshall said. “Our coalition will continue to stand against every encroachment on this fundamental freedom, and I am confident the court will correct the lower court’s deeply misguided ruling.”
The case originated when the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists and Adventist Risk Management, Inc. challenged Maryland’s narrower interpretation. The organizations require all employees to be church members in good standing, reflecting their belief that each worker contributes to their religious mission. Under the revised rule, however, that practice could be undermined by judges determining which roles are “close enough” to the mission.
The amicus brief argues that such judicial intervention violates the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses. It emphasizes that the Free Exercise Clause protects the right of religious groups to define their mission, while the Establishment Clause prevents government intrusion into ecclesiastical matters. The brief also warns that the threat of litigation could pressure organizations to make decisions based on legal risks instead of religious conviction.
Alabama joined Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia in the filing.
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AG Steve Marshall Joins Multistate Coalition Defending Religious Autonomy in Employment Practices – Calhoun Journal
