Strock v. Pressnell

Appellant’s complaint against Pressnell and the Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church was premised on a variety of tort theories. Before addressing the validity of the complaint and the underlying theories of recovery, we must first determine whether the protections provided by the First Amendment bar this cause.

I

The threshold question whenever the Free Exercise Clause is invoked is whether the contested conduct is in fact religious in character. “In the spiritual counseling context, the free exercise clause is relevant only if the defendant can show that the conduct that allegedly caused…