This case was brought in response to the attempts by two Georgia churches to withdraw from the control of the U.S. Presbyterian Church. The local churches alleged that the church leadership had strayed from the original doctrines and tenants upon which the faith was based. The Superior Court found for the local churches because it decided that the implied trust between the local and national churches was terminated because of the latter's substantial departure from its original doctrines.
The Court unanimously (9-0) decided that the Superior Court overstepped its constitutional powers by involving itself in this dispute.
| Majority Opinion: (Justice Brennan) |
In an earlier decision (Watson v. Jones) the Supreme Court ruled that the courts may not interpret ecclesiastical questions. By determining that the U.S. Presbyterian Church had strayed from its original tenants, the Superior Court decided which beliefs were essential to the faith. It should be left to the people involved to decide which of these tenants were central to their religious beliefs. While civil courts can make decisions involving church property, "First Amendment values are plainly jeopardized when church property litigation is made to turn on the resolution by civil courts of controversies over religious doctrine and practice." If the courts involve themselves with analyzing a faith's tenants, there is a danger of inhibiting the free development of religious doctrine.
The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for courts to make decisions regarding which beliefs were essential to a religious group. While making this decision, the Court reaffirmed its right to involve itself in making decisions relating to church property.
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