Opinion ID: 718187
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Text: 74 The ministerial exception is judicial shorthand for two conclusions: the first is that the imposition of secular standards on a church's employment of its ministers will burden the free exercise of religion; the second, that the state's interest in eliminating employment discrimination is out-weighed by a church's constitutional right of autonomy in its own domain. Catholic University argues, essentially, that even if Smith 's rejection of the compelling interest test undermined the exception, the test and the exception were revalidated by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb, et seq. (Supp.V.1993) (RFRA or Act). 75 If the University is right, it wins the case on this basis alone because we have concluded above that Title VII impermissibly burdens Catholic University's free exercise of religion and because, in Minker, we made the implicit finding, which we today make explicit, that the Government's interest in eliminating employment discrimination is insufficient to overcome a religious institution's interest in being able to employ the ministers of its choice. See Minker, 894 F.2d at 1357. Appellants ask us to reject the University's argument on three grounds: (1) the University has waived the right to invoke RFRA on appeal because it failed to do so before the district court; (2) the Act is unconstitutional; and (3) even if it is constitutional, the Act cannot be applied retroactively. RFRA provides, in pertinent part: 76 § 2000bb. Congressional findings and declaration of purposes 77