May (Web-only) 2002

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Calif. Supreme Court: Religious organizations can regulate religious speech
There was a very important decision at the California Supreme Court yesterday, but it doesn't fit into easy categories of religious freedom. It's good news for religious organizations, but it came because an evangelical was fired from a secularized Catholic medical center.

Terence Silo was a file clerk at the Catholic Healthcare West Medical Foundation when, in his words, "I gave my life to Christ. My heart was filled with the Holy Spirit, and my life was changed." Excited about his new relationship with God, he started telling coworkers and patients.

His employer wasn't pleased. The clinic, it turns out, is only nominally Catholic, though it is operated by the Roman Catholic Church. It eschews religious symbols, doesn't have any services or Bible studies, and doesn't even have a chaplain or chapel. And Silo's religious talk was forbidden. "He was counseled … that he should not use the word 'God … unless it's off the clock,'" court documents say.

Eventually Silo was fired. The clinic said it was over poor performance, not religion, but a Superior Court jury disagreed, awarding him damages and attorney fees. A California Court of Appeal upheld the judgment, noting that the state constitution forbids religious discrimination.

The California Supreme Court, however, unanimously overturned the verdict yesterday. "We can discern no fundamental public policy that places limits on a religious employer's right to control such speech," wrote Justice Carlos R. Moreno (PDF | DOC | HTML). "The public policy against religious discrimination in employment must be qualified by the public policy of permitting religious employers considerable discretion to choose employees ...