“There is no doubt that Christian businesses and ministries have come under attack at times from foolish laws and court decisions. How grateful we should be for this ruling from the 9th Circuit, no less, that affirms the right of Christian ministries to fulfill their calling to serve everyone while maintaining a Christian workforce.” – Pastor Calvin Lindstrom
Religious liberty is constantly under attack.
The case of Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown is another example of the assault on freedom that religious institutions are facing.
To give some background information, Union Gospel Mission of Yakima is a faith-based, non-profit organization that serves the homeless and impoverished population in Yakima, Washington.
Part of their ministry includes the provision of emergency shelter, meals, addiction recovery programs, health services, job training, and more – all from a Christian perspective.
Because of the faith-based nature of this ministry, Union Gospel Mission requires employees to share their mission and agree with their statement of faith.
This hiring practice of only hiring those who share the Mission’s religious beliefs brought the Mission under heavy attack from the Washington Supreme Court, a court whose 8 of 9 Justices lean liberal.
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that the Union Gospel Mission could not discriminate in their hiring practices based upon religious beliefs or affiliations. In addition to this, the Mission has received significant penalty threats from state officials because of these hiring practices.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys represented the Mission in their fight for religious freedom and on Tuesday, January 6, religious freedom gained another win.
In a unanimous decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the court ruled:
“Yakima Union Gospel Mission is free to hire like-minded employees who share and live out the mission’s religious beliefs and purpose to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter and other community service programs.”
ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus commented,
“Religious organizations shouldn’t be punished for exercising their constitutionally protected freedom to hire employees who are aligned with and live out their shared religious beliefs…”
In its opinion, the 9th Circuit Court wrote,
“If a religious organization’s hiring of co-religionists for non-ministerial positions rests on its sincerely held religious beliefs, then the church autonomy doctrine forbids government interference with that hiring decision.”
Religious freedom is the foundation of what makes our country great.
Religious freedom was the motivation for the original colonists who came over in the 1600s establishing Jamestown in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620.
“We shall, by planting there [in America], enlarge the glory of the Gospel and from England plant sincere religion and provide a safe and a sure place to receive people from all parts of the world that are forced to flee for the truth of God’s Word.”
–Richard Hakluyt, English minister, Discourse on Western Planting, 1584
Without religious freedom, America ceases to be the country that it was designed and intended to be.
Praise God for the win for religious freedom and deep heart felt thanks to Alliance Defending Freedom.
