[blindlaw] Re the ADA in churches

[Elizabeth Rene]

It seems to me that the conferral or receipt of any federal benefit, e.g. 
funding for breakfasts or for faith-based schools, a federal license to 
accredit training centers for hospital chaplains and to certify clinical 
pastoral educators, or a federal contract, say, with a faith-based 
organization to provide low-income housing or homeless shelter, could be 
conditioned upon adherence to the ADA.  But the ministerial exception, which 
applies to ordained or commissioned ministers, is based on the Constitution 
itself, and upon First Amendment principles fundamental to who we are as a 
country.  So the ADA might protect some church members, but not all.

A person's relation to the church can determine whether he or she can rely 
upon the law's protection against discrimination.  And ironically, whether 
one is an American or the national of some other country that doesn't insist 
upon a separation between church and state.  It's that whole tapestry thing 
I wrote about earlier.  What happens in churches is not a cut-and-dried 
question.

But it's such an important one.  From childhood, our first ideas about 
justice, fairness, community, personhood, and the meaning and purpose of 
life itself  are formed in our faith communities.  Those ideas follow us 
into adulthood, and we bring them into positions of leadership.  The Civil 
Rights movement took root in churches.  And our country's leaders were 
spiritually formed in their churches.

Regardless of belief or non-belief, the cultural impact of faith communities 
is enormous.

And a lot of the most damaging ideas and mixed messages about blindness and 
disability have evolved in churches.

While several denominations may have adopted ADA-like principles for their 
own governance, these same groups may be the first to litigate against ADA 
enforcement by the courts, and to punish clergy and lay ministers who seek 
judicial review rather than relying on internal processes to confront 
discrimination.  The Supreme Court's decision in Hosanna-Tabor--a unanimous 
decision--seems to hold that such punishment is not unlawful.

I'm going to quit now, hoping that I've not exhausted everyone's patience.

But I hope this question gets more play.  It's a big one.

Thanks,

Elizabeth