Michigan Catholic school joined by two religious groups in fight to protect right to hire faculty committed to church teaching

A Michigan Catholic school is fighting the state for the right to hire teachers and staff who share the Catholic faith, and it is now being supported by two other religious groups in the case.

Sacred Heart Academy, part of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, filed a federal lawsuit last year challenging changes to the Michigan Civil Rights Act, originally intended to prevent sex discrimination. Last year, the Michigan Legislature expanded the reach of the law to include sexual orientation and gender identity, with no option for religious exemption.

This expanded definition could leave schools like Sacred Heart open to claims of discrimination because they do not hire staff who don’t adhere to Catholic or Christian principles, or those who embrace ideologies or lifestyles in direct opposition to church doctrine.

The lawsuit, filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the parish, the school and three families, accuses the state of violating their constitutional religious freedom.

“No government official has the right to force a Catholic institution like Sacred Heart to affirm positions contrary to the church’s teachings on marriage and sexuality,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson in a news release.

“The parents we represent in this case specifically opted out of public schools and instead chose to send their children to Sacred Heart Academy so that they could grow academically and spiritually in the Catholic faith. Every parent has the right to make the best education decision for their children, and the government can’t deprive parents of that fundamental freedom.”

Two other religious groups filed a joint brief in the case this month in support of Sacred Heart: the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Religious Freedom Institute’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team.

“Though the facts underlying this appeal do not involve Islamic or Jewish expression or beliefs,” the brief reads, “the issue of religious entities’ right to hire coreligionists is of great concern to all faith groups and to minority faiths especially.

“In particular, amici fear that the misapplication or retrenchment of the coreligionist exemption would have an especially deleterious effects on adherents of minority religious faiths who often organize collectively to learn, teach, act, and serve as an expression and exercise of their faith.”