Opinion ID: 2341262
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Dismissal of the Abbot and Monks

Text: The appellants next claim that the circuit court lacked the authority to determine that the abbot and monks were members of the temple who could be dismissed by the board of directors. First, they maintain that the court was without authority to determine who was or was not a member of the temple. As a second matter, the appellants urge that the circuit court disregarded the overwhelming evidence that was presented that the temple was part of the Dhammayut sect of Buddhism. The members of a temple, they argue, cannot, by a majority vote, change fundamental precepts of that temple. Furthermore, they point out that the 1989 bylaws contain no specific provision allowing the board of directors to dismiss the abbot or the monks. Appellants contend that only the Sangha Council, which is the religious assembly governing the Dhammayut denomination, can remove the abbot and only the abbot can remove the monks. The appellees counter that there was sufficient evidenceincluding the 1989 bylaws and the testimony of witnessesto support the circuit court's decision that the temple was nondenominational and congregational. They note that not all of the founders of the temple were Dhammayut and emphasize that because the temple is nondenominational Buddhist, rather than Dhammayut, the board of directors did not alter the temple fundamentally or in a vital or substantial way by replacing the abbot and the monks. Rather, they argue, the new board of directors maintained the temple's long-standing tradition of being open and inclusive. The appellees conclude by asserting that Wat Buddha Samakitham adheres to a congregational form of governance, and the majority of its members can, therefore, hire and fire religious leaders at will. In support of this argument, appellees note that the 1989 bylaws focus on group leadership and majority control. We initially observe that a congregational church is self-governing, and church decisions are decided by a majority vote of the membership. Holiman, 236 Ark. at 212, 366 S.W.2d at 199. A hierarchical church, however, is subject to the power of higher ecclesiastical authority. Id. In the case at hand, there is no contention that the property of Wat Buddha Samakitham is subject to any hierarchical power. The appellants do, however, contend that the temple is subject to the hierarchical authority of the Dhammayut denomination on religious matters, such as dismissing the abbot. In 1963, this court held that [i]t is firmly settled that the controlling faction [of a religious organization] will not be permitted to divert the church property to another denomination.... For instance, if a majority of a Baptist Church should attempt to combine with a Methodist or Presbyterian Church ... the majority could not take the church property with them. Holiman, 236 Ark. at 213, 366 S.W.2d at 200. At the same time, this court reaffirmed that the civil courts cannot assume independent authority to arbitrate the niceties of ecclesiastical disputations. Id. at 214, 366 S.W.2d at 200-01. The questions now before this court do not relate to fundamental change in religious doctrine but, rather, concern whether the temple affiliated itself with a particular denomination and whether that determination can be made by using neutral principles. We hold that the circuit court did not lack subject-matter jurisdiction to decide that Wat Buddha Samakitham was a nondenominational Buddhist temple. That issue of affiliation is a factual one, which can be decided by using neutral principles. In short, the affiliation of the temple can be decided from evidence gleaned from the temple's 1989 bylaws and from witnesses. The jurisdictional question being settled, we now turn to the circuit court's factual finding that Wat Buddha Samakitham is a nondenominational Buddhist temple to determine whether clear error occurred. Ark. R. Civ. P. 52(a) (2007); Thompson v. Bank of America, 356 Ark. 576, 580, 157 S.W.3d 174, 176 (2004). It is well established that [a] finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. Id. Here, the appellants contend that the temple is of the Dhammayut denomination of the Buddhist faith and that the board of directors is without the power to install a non-Dhammayut abbot or monks. The appellants also contend that the board of directors was entirely without authority to remove the abbot or monks, because the power to remove the abbot is limited to the Sangha Supreme Council, which governs the Dhammayut order, and the power to remove the monks is limited to the abbot. We disagree. There was conflicting testimony about whether the temple was ever affiliated with the Dhammayut denomination. Moreover, the 1989 bylaws make no mention of an intention of the temple to be Dhammayut, but they do express an intention to provide a place of worship for all Buddhists, regardless of race or national origin. [8] We cannot conclude that the circuit court's determination that the temple was not Dhammayut was clearly erroneous. Because we decide as we do, the Wat Buddha Samakitham board of directors, as the duly appointed representative of the membership, had the authority to dismiss the abbot and monks. The appellants, finally, argue that the circuit court impermissibly intruded on a religious matter when it found that the abbot and monks were members subject to removal by the board of directors. Again, we disagree. The circuit court only opined that the board of directors had the authority to decide who were temple members and in no way ordered the removal of the abbot or monks or limited the board of directors in making its own determination. Affirmed.