BALTIMORE—Can you imagine a religion insisting you be of its “right” faith to be a janitor? The Seventh Day Adventists are demanding Maryland let them discriminate that way.
In a lawsuit filed October 8 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, the headquarters of the church says Maryland so narrowly interprets its Constitution’s religious exemptions on hiring to mandate only people directly involved in being pastors or above must be Adventists.
That goes against their religious tenets, the church says. Everyone employed by Adventists, from janitors in local churches to President Ted N.C. Wilson at its world headquarters in Maryland’s D.C. suburbs, must be “baptized tithe-paying members in regular standing” as Adventists, it declares.
Only Adventists who obey the tenets of their religion must be hired. Everybody else can be whatever religion they choose, but that automatically bans them from employment. And Adventists must be straight. No gays allowed.
The tenets are precise. Adventists worship on the Biblical Sabbath, Saturday. They ban eating pork, smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, and taking illegal drugs. The tenets also mandate “modest dress and personal grooming.” Many Adventists, news reports note, are vegans or vegetarians.
And the Adventists ban members from “immoral conduct,” lumping together many things including but not limited to engaging in pornographic activities, child sexual abuse, incest, fornication, adultery, and “homosexual practices.”
“All employees of the church—including those of the general conference”—its headquarters—and its financial arm, “are critical to…engaging in the church’s divinely appointed ministry. This includes employees whose day-to-day responsibilities may not, on the surface, appear to include direct religious instruction or leadership.” The church employs 400 people at its Maryland headquarters
The Adventist case is important because it illustrates an increasing trend which has already reached the U.S. Supreme Court and particularly its right-wing majority: A tendency to put religious rights, and dogmas, over everything else, constitutionally.
That trend is most noticeable in the High Court’s Dobbs decision two years ago, when the five-justice GOP-named right-wingers fulfilled the long-held dogma of the anti-abortion movement—and of the Catholic Church and other religious groups—and outlawed a national right to abortion.
But it’s also appeared in a line of cases where the justices have bent over backwards to show favoritism to private religious schools, granting them vouchers, tax credits, and employment discrimination leeway, which is what the Adventists want there, too.
Whether non-Adventists have applied for positions at Adventist headquarters is unknown. The Maryland Constitution, as interpreted by the state’s Human Rights Commission, says they can. But the lawsuit describes office conditions that can make non-Adventist workers uncomfortable.
“Plaintiffs’ faith permeates their work culture and environment,” the Adventists declare about themselves. They “begin each day with worship services for employees, which include devotional speakers, interactive prayer, singing and musical worship, and Bible study from the Church’s Sabbath School curriculum. Employees throughout various departments share responsibility for planning and leading large-group and smaller-departmental worship services.
“This often involves sharing spiritual encouragement and prayer. It is not uncommon for employees to open internal meetings with a prayer or for employees to pray for each other throughout the workday.”
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