(CBN) – The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the First Amendment rights of two Catholic schools, saying the religious institutions have the final say over their own employment decisions. The court ruled 7-2, upholding religious freedom in the two cases under review: Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James Catholic School v. Biel.
Justice Alito wrote for the Court upholding the rights of religious schools: “The First Amendment protects the right of religious institutions ‘to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government as well as those of faith and doctrine.'”
He added, “The religious education and formation of students is the very reason for the existence of most private religious schools, and therefore the selection and supervision of the teachers upon whom the schools rely to do this work lie at the core of their mission. Judicial review of the way in which religious schools discharge those responsibilities would undermine the independence of religious institutions in a way that the First Amendment does not tolerate.” READ MORE
