In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the 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.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent the Yakima Union Gospel Mission in challenging a Washington state law that limited its ability to hire individuals who share and live out its faith. The 9th Circuit’s ruling affirms that churches and religious ministries have autonomy to hire fellow believers for all positions.
“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,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus, who argued before the court. “Yakima Union Gospel Mission exists to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics. The 9th Circuit correctly ruled that the First Amendment protects the mission’s freedom to hire fellow believers who share that calling.”
The Yakima Union Gospel Mission serves everyone regardless of background or belief, but it furthers its religious purpose by employing only likeminded believers who agree with and live out the mission’s Christian beliefs and practices, including the mission’s beliefs on biblical marriage and sexuality. But the Washington law threatened the mission with significant penalties and liability for hiring only those who share its religious beliefs and convictions.
“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,” the 9th Circuit wrote in its opinion in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown.
