Nation Ford Baptist Church, Inc. v. Davis

Summary

The Court held that civil courts may adjudicate portions of a pastor’s dispute with a church when the issues can be resolved through neutral principles of corporate, contract, and employment law. The trial court could examine which bylaws governed, whether the Board followed those bylaws, and whether an employment contract existed, but it could not decide questions requiring evaluation of church doctrine, pastoral qualifications, or the religious justification for the Board’s actions. The Court therefore affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for dismissal of the claims requiring ecclesiastical entanglement.