Do You Meet the Three Definitions of a Minister?

By Raul Rivera

Is a teacher at a church-controlled school a minister?  How about a church treasurer or secretary?  Can they be classified as ministers?  If so, then they can receive special tax treatment under Sections 107 and 1402 of the Internal Revenue Code.  The idea of one being ordained as a minister of the gospel is an important legal matter.  A recent Supreme Court ruling just made the matter more complicated because it specifically stated that the church giving the "title of minister is not enough."  At our compliance conferences we fully cover this topic to ensure that the ordination bestowed by your church does not get challenged as it did by the EEOC in the case below.

A significant court case

A church in Michigan hired a teacher to teach secular subjects, lead her students in daily prayer and devotional exercises, and take the students to weekly chapel services.  The church school created a classification of two types of teachers.  The first one was called a "lay teacher" and the other was a "called teacher".  Called teachers were those who felt they had a call from God to teach as their vocation.  In order to become a called teacher the church required one to complete "certain academic requirements, including a course of theological study."  After satisfactory completion of the requirements of a called teacher, this person was bestowed the title of "Minister of Religion, Commissioned."

In 2004, the teacher suffered a medical setback that caused her to miss the beginning of the school year.  However, in January of 2005, when she notified the school that she was ready to return to her post, the school was concerned that she had not yet fully recovered and thus, that she might not be able to fully carry on her duties in the classroom.  In an attempt to make a difficult situation better, the church decided not to renew her contract, but instead to pay part of her health insurance premiums as part of her resignation package.  The teacher refused to resign and instead chose to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming that the church violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in terminating her employment.  The EEOC agreed and filed a lawsuit against the church for wrongful termination. 

Are there multiple definitions of a minister?

The lawsuit worked its way up to the United States Supreme Court, which gave a ruling that could potentially redefine the meaning of a minister across many applications of law.  On one hand, the church argued that because the teacher was hired as a minister, the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment prevents the courts from intervening in employment contracts between church and minister.  On the other hand, the EEOC argued that the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment gave the church freedom of association but that it did not protect the church in selecting or rejecting its own ministers as it sees fit without any regard to federal hiring and firing regulations. 

The Supreme Court rejected the argument presented by the EEOC and squared the case on whether the teacher fit the definition of a minister within the context of a special rule known as the ministerial exception. 

Three definitions of a minister

This case is a classic example showing how the definition of a minister differs depending on the area of law and the context.  Let me give you three definitions of a minister, followed by a potentially new definition.

1.     Minister for the purposes of solemnization of marriages:  All 50 states have laws in the books concerning the solemnization of marriages and who can conduct weddings.  After reviewing the laws of all fifty states, I boiled it down to the following definition:

a.      Ordination must be designated by a considered, deliberate, and responsible act of the church and you must be in regular communion with the organization that licensed or ordained you.  (After considering this first definition, do you know if your ordination meets this definition?)

2.     Minister for tax purposes:  The IRS does not have a concrete definition of the word minister, but has used some court precedence for setting guidelines to say who is or is not a minister for federal tax purposes. The closest that any court has ever come to defining the word minister for tax purposes was a 1985 Federal Appeals Court decision. The court concluded that the word minister "does not depend upon ordination, but upon the function of the position." The court further concluded that the duties of the person are what make him/her clergy and not the actual ordination ceremony.  Based on that court ruling, the IRS came up with a list of functions to define a minister.

a.     Performing sacerdotal functions. 

b.     Conducting religious worship. 

c.      Controlling, conducting, and maintaining religious organizations, boards, societies, and other integral agencies.

d.     Performing administrative duties and teaching at theological seminaries.  The school must be under the direct control of a church (Rev. Rul.62-171).

The decision reached in the case of the Michigan teacher, known as The Hosanna-Tabor case, broadened the ministerial exception to allow the firing of a teacher with narcolepsy from a religious school where her religious duties consumed only 45 minutes of each workday, and who otherwise taught secular subjects.

3.     Minister for ministerial exception purposes:  As I mentioned earlier, the ministerial exception is a contextual definition of a minister limited to hiring and firing practices as regulated by Title VII.  It is significant because it broadens the definition to cover individuals that are not necessarily ministers in the traditional sense.  In broadening the definition, the court rejected the notion of a rigid formula for deciding when an employee qualifies as a minister.  Instead, the court opted to state that:

a.     The church held her out as a minister, with a role distinct from that of most of its members,

b.     The title bestowed upon her by the church represented a significant degree of religious training,

c.      The minister accepted the formal call to religious service,

d.     The minister's duties reflected a role in conveying the church's message and carrying out its mission.

Ten requirements of ordination

Under the Constitution and case law, the church is protected from state interference concerning the licensing process of ministers when it is done through the sincerely held convictions of the church.  This does not mean that anyone can legally become a self-ordained minister or that one can receive his or her legal ordination or license through mail order or internet ordination agencies unless the licensing body as a church or properly formed ministry acts responsibly in the licensing of a minister.  That is why it is important to fully understand what it truly means to be ordained as a minister of the gospel.  At our conferences we teach the ten requirements of a proper ordination.  It will suit you well to know them and to make sure that your ordination substantially meets all ten of them.

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