Becket Fund Lawyer Argues for Religious Liberty of Catholic School
18th June 2024
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit heard oral arguments June 11 in St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel. The case involves St. Joseph Catholic School in Saint Johns, Michigan, which is asking the court to protect its ability to hire staff who share the same faith.
In July 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court reinterpreted a state civil rights statute’s definition of sex to include sexual orientation, without any exemption for religious organizations. In March 2023, the Michigan Legislature wrote the change into state law, expressly prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The school’s right to hire staff who hold Catholic religious views on marriage and gender is at risk. St. Joseph’s asks all staff to be practicing Catholics who uphold the faith.
St. Joseph’s also risks being sued for discrimination because of its beliefs about gender and marriage, because the law makes it illegal to decline to use staff members’ or students’ preferred personal pronouns or to have separate girls’ and boys’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
Time to leave.