Tennessee court OKs suit against religious agency

The Court of Appeals in Nashville on Thursday ruled that a Jewish couple may sue the state of Tennessee for funding a Methodist child-placing agency. A trial court previously ruled that a Jewish couple and several other plaintiffs did not have standing to sue the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. The lawsuit claims that the department’s funding of the Holston United Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville, Tenn., violates the state constitution’s prohibition on government advancing a specific religion. The Appeals Court ordered the lower court to reexamine the case.

Did the agency discriminate against the couple? The Holston United Methodist Home told the Jewish couple that it could not complete an adoption home study for them because the home only works with families who can sign its statement of faith.

Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Liberties about the case.