church autonomy
15 articles
GwenSouthern Baptist Convention to End Ties With Baptist Convention of Washington, D.C.
The Southern Baptist Convention, which reports 16 million members and is the largest Protestant denomination in America, has announced that it intends to sever its relationship with the...
Lawsuit accuses Southern Baptist leader in Arkansas of mishandling sex abuse complaints against pastor
A new lawsuit accuses a top-ranking Southern Baptist official in Arkansas of failing to report sex abuse allegations against a pastor. The suit was filed on behalf of...
Appeals court lets priest’s defamation suit against Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia proceed
A federal appeals court has ruled that religious groups cannot use religious belief and doctrine to escape lawsuits that involve issues of secular law. The Aug. 17 opinion...
Lawsuit Against SBC and Four Churches Alleges Negligence in Handling of Sexual Abuse Claims
A new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee will again test whether the Southern Baptist Convention, a convention of autonomous churches,...
Mexican Court Rejects Transgender Man’s Bid to Change Church Baptism Record
The dispute began in 2021, when a man who described himself as a woman asked the church that had baptized him to amend its records to reflect that...
Appeals Court Partly Revives Seattle Pacific University’s Challenge to Washington Attorney General’s Hiring Probe
Seattle Pacific University can proceed with some of its claims against Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, after a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel partially revived the school’s...
Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Tithing Lawsuits Against Church of Jesus Christ
A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling on Monday in a consolidated class-action lawsuit over tithing against The Church of Jesus...
Split federal appeals court lets former Russian Orthodox priest’s defamation suit go forward
A divided federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a former priest’s defamation lawsuit against the Russian Orthodox Church can move forward, despite the church’s argument that church autonomy...
Vatican and Honduras Sign Treaty to Strengthen Religious Freedom and Institutional Cooperation
The Vatican and the Government of Honduras have reached a bilateral treaty to “strengthen their institutional cooperation and religious freedom.” This agreement, consisting of 25 articles, will become...
Baltimore Catholic charity ruled to violate employment discrimination laws by cutting gay couple’s benefits (Baltimore, Maryland)
Catholic Relief Services, a humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church based in Baltimore, faced a legal ruling that challenged its decision to terminate benefits for a gay employee’s...
