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14 

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL v. 
MORRISSEY-BERRU 
Opinion of the Court 

an oath and license for any “ ‘vagrant Preacher, Moravian, 
or disguised Papist’ ” to “ ‘Preach or Teach, Either in Public 
or  Private.’ ”  S.  Cobb,  The  Rise  of  Religious  Liberty  in
America 358 (1902). 

C 

In  Hosanna-Tabor,  Cheryl  Perich,  a  kindergarten  and 
fourth  grade  teacher  at  an  Evangelical  Lutheran  school, 
filed suit in federal court, claiming that she had been dis-
charged  because  of  a  disability,  in violation  of  the  Ameri-
cans  with  Disabilities  Act  of  1990  (ADA),  42  U. S. C. 
§12112(a).  The  school  responded  that  the  real  reason  for 
her  dismissal  was  her  violation  of  the  Lutheran  doctrine 
that disputes should be resolved internally and not by going 
to outside authorities.  We held that her suit was barred by
the  “ministerial  exception”  and  noted  that  it  “concern[ed] 
government interference with an internal church decision 
that affects the faith and mission of the church.”  565 U. S., 
at 190.  We declined “to adopt a rigid formula for deciding
when an employee qualifies as a minister,” and we added 
that it was “enough for us to conclude, in this our first case
involving the ministerial exception, that the exception co-
vers  Perich,  given  all  the  circumstances  of  her  employ-
ment.”  Id., at 190–191.  We identified four relevant circum-
stances but did not highlight any as essential. 

First, we noted that her church had given Perich the title
of  “minister,  with  a  role  distinct  from  that  of  most  of  its 
members.”  Id., at 191.  Although she was not a minister in 
the usual sense of the term—she was not a pastor or deacon,
did not lead a congregation, and did not regularly conduct 
religious services—she was classified as a “called” teacher,
as  opposed  to  a  lay  teacher,  and  after  completing  certain
academic requirements, was given the formal title “ ‘Minis-
ter of Religion, Commissioned.’ ”  Id., at 177–178, 191. 

Second, Perich’s position “reflected a significant degree of