{"id":2616361,"date":"2026-06-19T15:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ninth-circuit-to-weigh-if-religious-ministries-can-limit-hiring-to-like-minded-employees\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T15:44:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:44:05","slug":"ninth-circuit-to-weigh-if-religious-ministries-can-limit-hiring-to-like-minded-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ninth-circuit-to-weigh-if-religious-ministries-can-limit-hiring-to-like-minded-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Ninth Circuit to weigh if religious ministries can limit hiring to like-minded employees"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fninth-circuit-to-weigh-if-religious-ministries-can-limit-hiring-to-like-minded-employees%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616361&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is set to hear a case challenging whether a religious ministry can restrict its hiring to individuals who share its beliefs, raising notable questions about religious liberty. The case originated from Yakima Union Gospel Mission&#8217;s lawsuit against a Washington law that prevents employment discrimination but includes a religious exemption. The ministry argues the law infringes on their First Amendment rights by prohibiting them from hiring only co-religionists for non-ministerial roles, such as in their IT department. The lower federal court sided with the ministry, but the full Ninth Circuit has agreed to review the case, vacating the earlier ruling, which signals possible disagreement among the court&#8217;s judges. A dissenting judge criticized the court&#8217;s precedent and warned that the ruling could threaten religious organizations&#8217; autonomy to hire based on religious principles. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brutal-turn-for-climate-change-icon-michael-mann-as-1-million-defamation-judgment-goes-up-in-smoke\/\" title=\"Brutal Turn for Climate-Change Icon Michael Mann as  Million Defamation Judgment Goes Up in Smoke\">case highlights ongoing conflicts<\/a> between anti-discrimination laws and religious freedoms and may ultimately reach the Supreme Court, which has a history of ruling in favor of religious liberty in recent cases.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1537\">U.S. Court of Appeals<\/a> for the Ninth Circuit will hear a case over whether a religious ministry can limit who it hires to people who share its beliefs, in the latest hotly contested test of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/religious-freedom\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"627\">religious liberty<\/a>, which could make its way to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The full bench of the federal appeals court agreed to an appeal in a lawsuit brought by Yakima Union Gospel Mission against a Washington law that would have restricted their ability to limit hiring to people who share their religious beliefs, arguing the law is a violation of their First Amendment religious freedom. A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov\/datastore\/opinions\/2026\/01\/06\/24-7246.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov\/datastore\/opinions\/2026\/01\/06\/24-7246.pdf\">previously sided<\/a> with the ministry, and the judge who wrote the opinion for that panel offered a sharp criticism of the rest of the bench for deciding to review the case.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616556\/former-larry-krasner-supervisor-suspended-3-years-misleading-judge-death-penalty-case\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Former Larry Krasner supervisor suspended for three years after misleading judge in death penalty case<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616525\/joe-concha-gavin-newsom-doj-investigation-2028-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>\u2018This smells bad, it looks bad\u2019: Joe Concha on Newsom investigation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616024\/eeoc-mlb-religious-discrimination-pride-night-hats\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>EEOC to probe MLB over alleged discrimination in Pride Night hat controversy: Dhillon<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawsuit centers on the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prevents employment discrimination of various kinds, including on the basis of sexual orientation, and how it would affect the religious ministry\u2019s ability to only hire employees who share and uphold the same religious beliefs as the ministry. The WLAD allows a religious exemption for non-ministerial employees, but the Yakima Union Gospel Mission argued that it unconstitutionally prevents the religious organization from limiting hiring of roles, such as in the IT department, to those who share its religious views.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-starting-to-see-wins-in-transgender-court-battles\/\" title=\"Trump starting to see wins in transgender ... battles\">federal district court sided<\/a> with the religious ministry, leading the state to appeal to a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit, which also sided with the Yakima Union Gospel Mission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHiring based on religious criteria may conflict with laws prohibiting employment decisions based on protected characteristics. Ordinarily, even religious institutions must <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >follow generally applicable employment law<\/a>,\u201d U.S. Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said in the ruling for the three-judge panel. \u201cBut if state law were to prevent religious institutions from employing only co-religionists, those institutions could be forced to hire employees who openly flout and disagree with their religious principles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis, the First Amendment doesn\u2019t tolerate. Because who a religious organization hires may go to the very character of its religious mission, the church autonomy doctrine protects the decision to hire co-religionists for nonministerial roles if that decision is based on the organization\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-push-bill-aimed-at-balancing-lgbt-rights-and-religious-freedom\/\" title=\"House Republicans Push Bill Aimed at Balancing LGBT ... and ... Freedom\">sincerely held religious beliefs<\/a>,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision by the full bench of the Ninth Circuit to review the case vacates the three-judge panel\u2019s ruling, and it is unusually an indication that the full court disagrees with the panel\u2019s decision. Bumatay, issuing a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov\/datastore\/opinions\/2026\/06\/18\/24-7246.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov\/datastore\/opinions\/2026\/06\/18\/24-7246.pdf\">dissenting opinion<\/a> from the full bench\u2019s decision to rehear the case, tore into the Ninth Circuit\u2019s \u201calarming trend\u201d of not safeguarding religious freedom rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Ninth Circuit has relegated religious liberty to a second-class right. In case after case, our court has condoned governmental interference with the rights of the religious to practice their faith as they believe. And our failure to guard against intrusions on religious liberty has not gone unnoticed,\u201d Bumatay wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The appeals court judge cited various cases where the Ninth Circuit sided against religious institutions on being allowed to only hire like-minded employees, a coach praying after football games, and a fireman who was allegedly fired over his religious beliefs, among other cases.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow, with this en banc vote, we continue down this disturbing path. In what is likely a foregone conclusion, our court steps toward endorsing the view that States can force a religious organization to hire individuals who openly flout its religious beliefs and teachings. As a matter of constitutional first principles and precedent, that\u2019s wrong,\u201d Bumatay wrote. \u201cPerhaps I\u2019m wrong, in which case I will celebrate the win for the First Amendment. But given our court\u2019s track record, I have doubts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4612309\/pennsylvania-supreme-court-slams-philadelphia-larry-krasner\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4612309\">PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT SLAMS PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR PATTERN OF MISLEADING COURTS WHEN TRYING TO TOSS MURDER CONVICTIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bumatay\u2019s dissent was joined by U.S. Circuit Judges Lawrence VanDyke and Eric Tung, who were also appointed by Trump.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case will be another key test for religious liberty, which could make its way up to the Supreme Court, where religious liberty cases have been a frequent issue before the justices in recent terms. The high court\u2019s most recent ruling on religious liberty came in <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4424515\/supreme-court-rules-against-colorado-conversion-therapy-ban\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4424515\/supreme-court-rules-against-colorado-conversion-therapy-ban\/\">Chiles v. Salazar<\/a><\/em>, where the justices sided with a religious counselor over Colorado\u2019s law, which had prohibited her from trying to dissuade children from changing their\u00a0gender identities\u00a0or sexual orientations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ninth Circuit to review religious hiring case, potential Supreme Court issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2616362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25239860111372.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81449,50985,62334,57073,32274],"class_list":["post-2616361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-church-hiring-policies","tag-employment-law","tag-faith-based-organizations","tag-ninth-circuit","tag-religious-freedom"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25239860111372.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616361"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616365,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616361\/revisions\/2616365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}