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Texas Court Invalidates Judgment Against Church Over Ceremony |
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By a 6-3 vote, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the judicial system may not get involved in claims arising from "accepted and expected" church activities like the "laying of hands" in an exorcism ceremony. The Houston Chronicle has more:
The high court's decision reverses a $300,000 judgment a jury ordered paid to Laura Schubert in 2002. Schubert was 17 at the time when fellow parishioners at the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God Church in Colleyville, in an attempt to rid her of evil spirits, held her down and "laid hands" on her body as she struggled to break free.
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The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion, said the church's exorcism sessions were a matter of church doctrine and were thus subject to certain, though not absolute, First Amendment religious protections. You can read the decision here. |
