Tennessee attorney general weighs in on religious liberty cases

Tennessee's attorney general is jumping into the First Amendment debate over religious liberty in the U.S., joining other states in issuing support for a number of high-profile issues.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a collation of 19 state attorneys general on Tuesday in filing an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Gregory Tucker v. Faith Bible Chapel, a case regarding the firing of a Colorado chaplain following a 2018 sermon.

The brief marks the third religion-focused case in recent months from Skrmetti, who was appointed in September 2022 after serving as chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee.

Skrmetti also joined 19 other attorneys general in February in condemning a leaked memo from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that assesses the threat of radical Catholics, and 20 other attorneys general on March 1 in support of a Kentucky-based wedding photographer’s “religious liberty and free speech rights” to deny services to a same-sex couple.

The briefs mark three of seven joined by Skrmetti this year.

Skrmetti expresses support for 'ministerial exception' in case of chaplain fired after preaching sermon

Tuesday’s amicus brief supports a faith-based Colorado school in arguing that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit “misapplied” the “ministerial exception” — which bars legal claims against church bodies by their employees who carry out religious functions — in allowing a federal lawsuit filed by a former teacher and school chaplain to proceed against the school.

Tucker, a former chaplain at the school, led a service discussing racial issues in 2018. Religious freedom nonprofit law firm Becket, representing the school, stated that Tucker “became too political” and “handled an ensuing conflict” in a way that “contributed to division in the school and undermined the trust that school leadership and parents had in him,” resulting in his firing.

Tucker filed a lawsuit against the school, accusing them of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Colorado law.

Seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, Faith Christian cited the ministerial exception in justifying the chaplain’s firing. But the district court rejected the school's claim for summary judgment on the issue.

In June 2022, a 2-1 panel vote of the Tenth Circuit held that Faith Christian Academy could not appeal the district court’s decision. Months later, the full appellate court refused by a 6-4 vote to overturn the district court’s decision.

The new brief from the coalition of attorneys general contends that the ministerial exception should be “definitively ruled upon” early in litigation by a court, and that the court’s decision should be immediately appealable, as it “protects religious organizations from improper and invasive inquiries into their leadership decisions, doctrines, and dogma.”

Residents "should be free to choose religious ministers without fear of government meddling," the brief said.

'A profound interest' in supporting free-speech rights of photographer

Skrmetti joined a coalition of 20 states in filing an amicus brief before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in support of “the religious liberty and free speech” of a Louisville, Kentucky-based wedding photographer, who declined to take custom photographs at a same-sex wedding.

A federal district court ruled in favor of photographer Chelsea Nelson in late 2022, after she filed a lawsuit against the city of Louisville in 2019, alleging its Fairness Ordinance violated her constitutional rights as a Christian because it could force her to take photos at same-sex weddings.

In the brief, the coalition argues that in this case, the ordinance violates the photographer’s rights under the Free Speech Clause and Kentucky’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The coalition expressed their "profound interest" in the outcome of the case.

Leaked FBI document causes backlash, questions of religious persecution

A leaked threat assessment document from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond, Virginia office is receiving backlash from Skrmetti and 19 other attorneys general after its February publication.

The nine leaked pages, which first debuted on a conservative news blog, detail an assessment of “violent extremists” in “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology.” The FBI defined radical-traditionalist Catholics as those having a “frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology.”

“The memorandum distinguishes between what the FBI deems acceptable and unacceptable Catholic beliefs and practices,” Skrmetti said in a February news release. “The memorandum suggests that the Catholic church includes ‘radical traditionalists’ who could be ‘racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists.’”

The FBI has disavowed the document and launched an internal review, according to Skrmetti's office.

“I am proud to have worked with many honorable FBI agents and supervisors to prosecute sex traffickers, corrupt public officials, and violent white supremacists,” Skrmetti said. “The FBI does a lot of good work. But we have seen that, without fail, every time any part of the Bureau veers away from its core mission and works instead to enforce political orthodoxy, it brings shame to the agency and harms its ability to protect Americans.”

The USA Today Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee attorney general weighs in on religious liberty cases