Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church
U.S. LEXIS 2702
Case history
PriorCertiorari granted, 390 U.S. 440 (1968)
Holding
The First Amendment, as applied through the Fourteenth Amendment, bars the state from passing judgment in theological matters when judging property disputes involving religious organizations. Invalidates so-called "departure-from-doctrine" theory.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Case opinions
MajorityBrennan, joined by unanimous
ConcurrenceHarlan
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. I, XIV

Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church, 393 U.S. 440 (1969), was a

Hull Memorial Presbyterian Church, from the parent body Presbyterian Church in the United States
because, they claimed, the Church had departed from its original doctrinal tenets. The Court ruled that the state could not pass judgment concerning religious doctrine or church law.

Background

In 1966 the

Sunday School texts. Subsequently the Presbytery of Savannah appointed an Administrative Commission to resolve the dispute. When the two insurgent churches remained intransigent, the Presbytery attempted to take over the seceding churches' properties until new leadership could be found. The seceding churches then filed suit in the Superior Court of Chatham County
to enjoin representatives of Presbytery from trespassing on their properties. In response, the denomination moved to dismiss that injunction and filed a cross-injunction on its own behalf claiming that the state had no authority to determine whether the general church had departed from its tenets of faith and practice. The suits were consolidated for trial.

At the trial the case was decided under the doctrine of "implied trust" and "departure from doctrine", which meant that the jury was instructed to render a verdict whether the general church had violated the trust of its members by departing fundamentally from its original tenets. The jury found for the seceding churches, as did the Supreme Court of Georgia.

External links