Kirby v. Lexington Theological Seminary

Opinion of the Court by

Chief Justice MINTON.

The ministerial exception, rooted in the First Amendment’s principles of religious freedom, is a well-settled doctrine applicable to employment disputes between religious institutions and employees serving in a ministerial capacity. Recently, in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. E.E.O.C.,1 the United States Supreme Court added constitutional imprimatur to the ministerial exception but provided little direction for its application. We accepted discretionary review of this employment-dispute case because it presents us with our…