Opinion ID: 2388653
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Individuals of a Particular Religion

Text: The final requirement of section 5.06(1) is whether the Agency limited employment to members of a particular religion. Ms. Speer and the Commission argue that the Agency cannot utilize the section 5.06(1) exemption because it did not limit its hiring to individuals of a particular religion. The Agency limited employment based on wnetner tne applicant was a onnstian. Ms. Speer and the Commission argue that the Agency cannot limit employment to Christians____rather, it must limit employment to only Presbyterians or it cannot limit employment at all. I disagree. The statute requires only that the employment is denied to an individual of a particular religion. Since Presbyterians are a denomination of the Christian religion, the Agency was well within the dictates of section 5.06(1) by limiting employment to members of the Christian religion. A holding that Presbyterians are a subgroup of the Christian religion comports with federal case law and the plain meaning of the terms. The United States Supreme Court recently recognized that the Christian religion includes various denominations, such as Presbyterians. Frazee v. Illinois Dep't of Employment Security, 489 U.S. 829, 834, 109 S.Ct. 1514, 1517, 103 L.Ed.2d 914 (1989). The EEOC reached a similar decision in a case under Title VII where it held that a religious corporation who hired only Christians did not hire from more than one religion when it hired persons of different Christian denominations. E.E.O.C. Dec. No. 75-186, EEOC Decisions (CCH) 11 6553 (Feb. 21, 1975). In Little v. Wuerl, 929 F.2d 944, 950-51 (3d Cir.1991), the Third Circuit held that being of a particular religion encompassed more than just denominational affiliation. These federal determinations are consistent with the plain meaning of the terms utilized in the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. Religion is defined by the Act as all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.... Tex. Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 5221k § 2.01(14). The definition of Christianity is the religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ.... Webster's Third International Dictionary 400 (1961) (emphasis added). In contrast, the definition of Presbyterian is a Protestant Christian church.... Id. at 1792 (emphasis added). Thus, there is substantial authority that Christianity is the religion of Presbyterians, and therefore the Agency complied with the requirement that it limit employment based on a particular religion. Ms. Speer and the Commission also complain that the trial court and the court of appeals did not give the proper deference to the Commission's interpretation of the Act as expressed at trial by its Executive Director. The Director testified that Christianity is not a religion. [8] No deference need be given to such a patently erroneous opinion. The record does not show that the Commission nor its Director have special expertise or qualifications to determine what is or is not a religion. Whether something is a religion is probably a mixed question of law and fact that the trial court was entitled to decide. Also, Ms. Speer and the Commission complain of the trial court's failure to rule on the bona fide occupational defense asserted by the Agency. However, such a ruling was rendered moot by the trial court's disposition of the case.