Gordon Denied Ministerial Exception Defense in Discrimination Suit
by Collin Hall '21, Editor-in-Chief
Pictured: The Massachusetts Judicial Supreme Court, where the suit against Gordon College by Prof. Deweese-Boyd was heard. (source: Creative Commons)
Gordon College’s bid to have its ongoing lawsuit with former social work professor Margaret Deweese-Boyd dismissed under the ministerial exception has been rejected by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
In the decision, released today, upholding a decision by a lower court, the court ruled “that Gordon College (Gordon) is a religious institution, but that the plaintiff, Margaret DeWeese-Boyd, is not a ministerial employee.”
In her suit, Deweese-Boyd alleged that she was denied a promotion because of her association and support of LGBTQ+ students.
Gordon, unhappy with prior rulings, previously appealed their case to the MA Supreme Court in hopes that the higher court would allow a ministerial exception, which says that employees at religious institutions considered “ministers...may not claim important protections of civil law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of any protected factor, such as race, religion, national origin, sex, or sexual orientation.”
In today’s decision, the court notes that the definition and parameters of the ministerial exception are unclear, but that Deweese-Boyd’s case differs from previous cases involving the exception in several key ways. The case states that “she did not teach religion or religious texts, lead her students in prayer, take students to chapel services or other religious services, deliver sermons at chapel services, or select liturgy, all of which have been important, albeit not dispositive, factors in the Supreme Court's functional analysis.”
Gordon has attempted to define all of its faculty as ministers; the college argues that every Gordon professor integrates a Christian perspective into their teachings. The decision to define all faculty as ministers, as the court points out, brought ire among much of Gordon’s faculty. The state Supreme Court argues that, as precedent currently stands, the parameters of the ministerial exception are more limited than articulated by Gordon, and that the integration of Christian faith into a professor’s work is not enough to make them a minister.
Deweese-Boyd’s lawsuit against Gordon has garnered significant attention from outside institutions. Numerous groups and individuals, including the ACLU, the Massachusetts Attorney General, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities all submitted briefs to the court with their opinions on the case.
Gordon was represented by Eric S. Baxter, a prominent religious liberty lawyer who has written for the Wall Street Journal and has appeared on CBS, Fox News, and other news stations.
If Gordon does not choose to appeal the decision to a higher court, the case will take the form of a discrimination lawsuit and will be heard by the MA Supreme Court. If Gordon successfully appeals the decision, the suit will be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States.
The Tartan reached out to both Hillary Schwab (Deweese-Boyd’s lawyer) and Rick Sweeney, Gordon’s VP of External Communications, for comment.
Rick Sweeney, reiterating what was said in the written decision, said: “Gordon’s mission remains unchanged. The foundational basis of Gordon’s educational experience has been and will continue to be the integration of faith and learning as a distinctly Christian institution.
We are grateful for the sacrificial ministry that our faculty and staff conduct every day at Gordon to mentor, serve, and educate our students in the Christian faith. Because this case is still in active litigation as the underlying dispute over a promotion decision remains unresolved, we will not be making further comment, and the College will be keeping all legal options open in determining the best next steps forward.”