The License of Religious Groups to Discriminate In Choo

[Jim Maule]

Michael McConnell <michael.mcconnell at LAW.UTAH.EDU> writes

> Being black is not relevant to whether an ordained minister
> in the Presbyterian church would be a good pastor.

For me, that is true. I'm more concerned about a lot of other things.

Yet there are people who objected to the retention of female
ministers because they felt that the person's gender stood in the way
of a good rapport with their minister. (Oddly, there were (and I
suppose still are) both men and women who said things of this sort,
even though one supposes there are women, and men, who would find a
better rapport with a female minister). Suppose a congregation chose
to select an otherwise less qualified male for the pastoral position?
The response, I suppose, is that even if there is judicial
jurisdiction, male "genderness" is a qualification that the female
minister totally lacks. If so, I suppose the same applies to race.

There is something of a personal characteristic involved in the
retention of a pastor -- not unlike the selection of a friend,
paramour, spouse, or other intimate.

As a practical matter, the larger churches are in a position to have
a more diverse pastoral staff. That is not true of the smaller
congregations who can afford only one pastor.


Jim Maule
Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA 19085
maule at law.vill.edu
http://www.cilp.org/~maule
(610) 519 - 7135