The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld dismissal of a lawsuit brought by former Maryland/Delaware Baptist executive Will McRaney against the North American Mission Board.
McRaney alleged NAMB’s interference led to his 2015 termination, but the court ruled that the “church autonomy doctrine” barred his claims, as adjudicating them would intrude on matters of faith and doctrine.
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“On the merits, the church autonomy doctrine bars all of McRaney’s claims against NAMB,” read the presiding opinion, Baptist Press reported. “Although his claims are facially secular, their resolution would require secular courts to opine on ‘matters of faith and doctrine’ and intrude on NAMB’s ‘internal management decisions that are essential to [its] central mission.’ That we cannot do.”
The ruling also ordered McRaney to pay NAMB’s court costs for the appeal. Baptist Press reached out to McRaney’s attorney for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was is a summary of a report written by Brandon Porter and originally published by Baptist Press.
