Supreme Court unanimously shoots down Obama admin: churches have right to choose ministers
Image via Wikipedia WASHINGTON, January 12, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - Christian advocates are celebrating following a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday unanimously supporting the right of a church to select its own ministers, known as the “ministerial exception,” denying the Obama administration ’s argument that no such protection actually existed. Under the First Amendment , the high court ruled, churches are entitled to protection for their employment practices that applies beyond the head of a religious congregation to others, such as teachers, who are viewed as also carrying the message of the church. The court thus dismissed a wrongful termination suit brought against a church by a former teacher, who complained of disability discrimination to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . Conservative analysts note that Obama administration lawyers went farther than anti-religion interest groups weighing in on the case: Ed Whelan of National Review said the administrat