Published August 28, 2024
On August 28, 2024, EPPC filed an amicus brief in World Vision v. McMahon, in support of religious organizations’ rights to ask their employees to comply with their core religious teachings.
World Vision, a “Christian ministry dedicated to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ” through “humanitarian outreach to children and families around the world who are poor and underserved,” hires only those who adhere to its Christian beliefs and agree to live their lives in accordance with its religious standards of conduct. This case is about whether World Vision has the right to rescind a job offer from a job applicant who represented—falsely—that she agreed with World Vision’s beliefs and would live in accordance with those standards, including its beliefs and standards reflecting its traditional Christian understanding of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. The district court said no and World Vision appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
The amicus brief drafted by Michael B. Buschbacher and Austin Lipari of Boyden Gray PLLC, in partnership with EPPC scholars Rachel N Morrison and Eric Kniffin, explained that the district court got it wrong because the Constitution respects the “separate sphere” of religious authorities, and ensures that they may conduct their own affairs without state interference. The brief provided additional context about the history and scope of the First Amendment’s church autonomy protections in the employment context and argued that “[t]he constitutional guarantee that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’ protects the freedom of religious organizations to follow their faiths, including with respect to the people who will ‘personify’ those beliefs, free from federal courts’ second-guessing.”
The brief urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse the district court and rule in favor of World Vision.
Rachel N. Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s HHS Accountability Project. An attorney, her legal and policy work focuses on religious liberty, health care rights of conscience, the right to life, nondiscrimination, and civil rights.
