Among the more or less predictable reactions from legal adversaries to the Supreme Court\u2019s finding that ministers may not bring employment discrimination suits against their churches, there is a pious sentiment to be found here and there \u201d\u201d an appeal to an even higher law.<\/p>\n
Even those who agreed with the unanimous court \u201d\u201d and who have argued all along that the First Amendment provides an exception that lets churches, synagogues and other religious institutions hire and fire ministers and other religious leaders without government interference \u201d\u201d can be heard cautioning the churches not to abuse that right.<\/p>\n
Writing on the Web site of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which had filed a brief urging the court to affirm the ministerial exception, Don Byrd, a blogger who teaches at a Christian university, said, \u201cThis particular case though can be a difficult one to think about for those of us who stand firmly against employment discrimination.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n