Document Type

Brief

Case Name

Margaret DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College

Publication Date

12-14-2020

Abstract

No. SJC-12988
Margaret DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College

On Appeal from a Judgment of the Essex County Superior Court

From the Introduction

In the decision below, the trial court adopted a miserly understanding of the ministerial exception. It refused to apply it to a professor who taught social work at Gordon College, a Christian liberal arts school founded in 1889 which has a mission stating a "commitment to integrating faith and learning" and to "provide instruction in the Bible and other subjects" to prepare students "for the duties of the Christian ministry and other special forms of Christian work." RA/144,215. The trial court refused to apply the ministerial exception despite evidence that Gordon College "expected [Professor DeWeese-Boyd] to integrate the principles and concepts that underlie the Christian evangelical tradition with her teaching" and that she was a "source of religious instruction." DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College, Civ. Action No. 1777CV01367, 2020 WL 1672714, *24, 25 (April 2, 2020) ("Opinion").

Comments

The amici are law professors whose scholarship, teaching, and practice focus on the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. For decades, these professors have closely studied constitutional law and religious liberty and collectively have published numerous books and scores of scholarly articles on the topic and addressed it in litigation. The amici bring to this case a deep theoretical and practical understanding of the Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence that may help the Court resolve the parties' competing claims.

See the listing on pages 20-21, including Notre Dame Law School's Richard W. Garnett.

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