Justices Won’t Weigh Courts’ Role in Schism Over LGBT Ministers

The Supreme Court won’t consider the role of the judiciary in religious disputes, turning away a dispute between warring parishes due in part to the inclusion of LGBT clergy.

The justices on Monday declined to take up two cases out of Texas involving the Episcopal Church as well as a property ownership fight from Washington state involving the Presbyterian Church.

The court has long struggled to strike a balance in considering the role of the judiciary in religious disputes. In a 7-2 ruling last term, they re-enforced that courts should stay out of anti-discrimination claims between religious institutions and their ...