firing pregnant teachers from religious schools.

[Lupu, Ira (Chip)]

Doe anyone know of actual cases in which courts have rigorously
tested the sincerity of exemption claims by religious institutions, as
distinguished from individual claims of religious conscience?  In our
to-be-published paper on "The Distinctive Place of Religious Entities
in the Constitutional Order" (available on SSRN), Professor Tuttle
and I make the normative claim that sincerity inquiries focused on
institutions are unconstitutionally intrusive (or, to put it in more
familiar words, create the danger of "excessive entanglement," see
NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago) even if such inquiries into
individual religious sincerity are not.  Sincerity inquiries aimed at
religious institutions are highly likely to distort the process of belief
formation within religious communities.  I'd be very interested in list
members' reactions to such a claim, as well as in court decisions
consistent or inconsistent with that proposition.

P.S. to Alan Brownstein -- I know you asked this on another list, but
the same Tuttle-Lupu paper (also in Part IV) expressly analogizes
Religion Clause concerns  and privacy rights.


Ira C. ("Chip") Lupu
The George Washington University School of Law
2000 H St., NW
Washington D.C 20052

(202) 994-7053

ICLUPU at main.nlc.gwu.edu