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Ninth Circuit Ruling Reinforces Religious Organizations’ Right to Faith-Based Hiring
Washington State Representative Chris Corry calls it “a clear, common-sense defense of religious freedom grounded in the Constitution.”
In a major win for religious freedom, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled that Yakima Union Gospel Mission, a Christian ministry in Washington state, has a constitutional right to hire employees who share and live out its religious beliefs.
“The Constitution still means something, and courts still have a duty to defend it.”
The case arose after the ministry—which operates a homeless shelter and addiction recovery program, food distribution and health clinics—challenged a state law that restricts faith-based hiring for non-ministerial positions.
The court’s decision applies the church autonomy doctrine, which encompasses the ministerial exception, a religious organization’s First Amendment right to choose its spiritual leaders—those responsible for teaching the faith and advancing its mission. The ruling strengthens that protection by recognizing that faith groups also have a constitutional right to hire co-religionists for non-ministerial positions in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs.
As Judge Patrick Bumatay, who authored the court’s opinion, wrote: “Because who a religious organization hires may go to the very character of its religious mission, the church autonomy doctrine protects the decision to hire co-religionists for non-ministerial roles if that decision is based on the organization’s sincerely held religious beliefs.… [I]f state law were to prevent religious institutions from employing only co-religionists, those institutions could be forced to hire employees who openly flout and disagree with their religious principles. This, the First Amendment doesn’t tolerate.”
This marks the second time in less than a year that the Ninth Circuit—a court often regarded as one of the most challenging venues for religious freedom cases—has sided with religious organizations on hiring practices.
In a similar case last fall, the court ruled in favor of World Vision, a global Christian ministry focused on relief and development. The court recognized World Vision’s right to make hiring and firing decisions based on whether the employee shares and practices the ministry’s faith, if that employee performs duties vital to its religious mission.
In that case, however, the Ninth Circuit stopped short of addressing the rights of religious organizations with respect to all employees, limiting its ruling to ministerial positions.
By contrast, the decision in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown was sweeping, applying to all hiring choices made by a faith-based organization.
The Ninth Circuit’s recent rulings add to a growing body of appellate decisions nationwide affirming the constitutional right of religious organizations to hire only those who align with their beliefs—regardless of whether an employee wears a clerical collar, leads prayer, teaches or preaches the faith.
Or, as State Rep. Corry puts it, “At a time when religious liberty is too often treated as a problem to be managed rather than a right to be protected, this ruling is a welcome reminder: The Constitution still means something, and courts still have a duty to defend it.”
