AG Reyes Joins Amicus Brief to Stand for Religious Freedom

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined 16 attorneys general in an amicus brief at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in World Vision v. McMahon. The brief, which was led by the State of Montana, involves a question of the church autonomy doctrine governing interactions between religious and secular entities.

In 2020, McMahon applied for a job at World Vision, a "Christian Ministry dedicated to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, primarily through humanitarian outreach to children and families around the world who are poor and underserved." The organization, which mirrors the structure of a church, mandates that all employees must "continually and steadfastly uphold and maintain" its statement of faith - in addition to requiring compliance with its Standard of Conduct. After offering the job to McMahon, World Vision discovered that she was in violation of the organization's standards and retracted the offer. McMahon sued World Vision over federal and state anti-discrimination laws, and the district court ruled for her challenge. World Vision then appealed to the Ninth Circuit in defense of its position that the church autonomy doctrine applies.

In their brief, the attorneys general argue that "McMahon's claims are barred by church autonomy [because] the doctrine protects religious organizations [and] applies to personnel decisions based on religious doctrine."

According to the brief, the church autonomy doctrine presents a "boundary between two separate polities - the secular and the religious - and it requires civil courts to accept religious organizations' resolution of internal religious disputes as binding and outside their sphere." Because of this doctrine protecting World Vision's personnel decisions, the coalition of States asserts that it "thus protects World Vision's decision to withdraw McMahon's employment offer based on its religious doctrine."

Joining Utah and Montana on this brief are the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Read the brief here.