The Ministerial Exception to Title VII: The Case for a Deferential Primary Duties Test
The Ministerial Exception to Title VII: The Case for a Deferential Primary Duties Test
Note, 121 Harv. L. Rev. 1776 (2008)
Venerable legal traditions protect both religious freedom and civil rights, but the two conflict when religious organizations discriminate on the basis of sex, race, or other statutorily prohibited criteria in the selection of their spiritual leaders. Although constitutional law typically disfavors religious exemptions from general laws, religious employers have consistently–and successfully–claimed an exemption from employment discrimination laws. This “ministerial exception” allows religious employers to avoid liability for discrimination when making employment decisions concerning employees who qualify as ministers. Nearly all courts determine ministerial status under a primary duties test that considers whether an employee’s job responsibilities render him “important to the spiritual and pastoral mission of the church.” If so, the court will bar the employee’s discrimination claim in order to protect church autonomy. Although the Supreme Court has never endorsed the ministerial exception, every circuit court to have considered the issue has adopted the exemption.