GRAND RAPIDS, MI - This week's Ethics and Religion Talk considers a legal case involving a Christian school teacher fired for having premarital sex, and sparks a discussion on employment guidelines for religious organizations.
Share your own take in the comments below.
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Ethics and Religion Talk, by Rabbi David Krishef
A news story last year reported that a fourth-grade teacher in Florida was fired from her job in a private religious school for engaging in premarital sex. The issue came up when she requested maternity leave, and admitted that the child was conceived three weeks before her wedding.
A federal appeals court ruled that her lawsuit against the school, in which she claimed she was terminated because she requested maternity leave, could go forward. Leaders of the private, religious school argued that premarital sex is a sin against God and they had the right to fire her for violating the moral values of the school. The teacher argued that she was fired for requesting maternity leave, and pregnancy discrimination is a violation of federal civil rights law.
The school administrator said during his own deposition that the teacher was fired not just because of her premarital sex, but also because she never expressed sorrow for her actions. “If…she would have said to us I’m sorry that I’ve sinned against the Lord and this school, we would not be here,” the administrator said. “We could have gone in another total direction. But I never heard her say she was sorry.”
How would you respond to this situation if it happened in your institution?
- a Methodist voice, by the Rev. Laurie Haller, pastor of Aldersgate and Plainfield United Methodist Churches in Grand Rapids
- a Unitarian voice, by the Rev. Fred Wooden, senior minister of Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids
- a Jewish voice, by Rabbi David Krishef
Do you believe that the school was justified? State your case in the comments.
Ethics and Religion Talk is compiled and written by David Krishef, rabbi at Congregation Ahavas Israel in Grand Rapids. Krishef takes questions from readers and shares them with a panel of clergy, then provides the responses in collaboration with MLive.com reporter Matt Vande Bunte. The views expressed are those of the panelists and do not necessarily represent the official perspectives of their congregations or denominations. Please submit questions from your own day-to-day encounters to EthicsAndReligionTalk@gmail.com.