Hosanna-Tabor argued that Perich had been fired for religious reasons because she had violated the church’s commitment to internal conflict resolution rather than suing in court.
The decision, which was penned by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., was based largely on the courts’ determination that Perich qualified as a “minister” and that “ministerial exception” therefore applied to her.
The court noted that Perich had been “commissioned as a minister” and was considered a “called teacher,” who had received a calling from God to fill the position. She taught both religion and secular subjects, and she regularly led students in prayer and devotional exercises.
However, in a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas went further, arguing that the court should not have tried to make its own determination of whether Perich was properly considered a minister.
Thomas contended that “the Religion Clauses require civil courts to apply the ministerial exception and to defer to a religious organization’s good-faith understanding of who qualifies as its minister.”
He noted that the broad span of religious structures and teachings present in the United States means that “the question whether an employee is a minister is itself religious in nature, and the answer will vary widely.”
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote a separate concurring opinion. Joined by Justice Elena Kagan, he asserted that the term “minister” is not the central factor in the case.
“What matters,” he said, is that Perich “played an important role as an instrument of her church’s religious message and as a leader of its worship activities.”
He observed that the word “minister” is rarely used “by Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists.”
Rather than a debate about title or ordination, he suggested that the case was truly about the importance of safeguarding the autonomy of religious organizations to govern their internal affairs in accordance with the First Amendment.
Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.