Is Your Church Being Discriminated Against?

The recent Supreme Court ruling, legalizing same-sex marriage throughout America, is already having a real financial impact on churches. If a church hold true to the teachings of Scripture and denies same-sex couples the right to marry in their church, then they are under threat of litigation. Faithful teaching and adherence to Scripture is bringing discrimination against churches.  

Southern Mutual Church Insurance recently sent a memo to it’s employees concerning the recent Supreme Court ruling’s impact on church coverage. If a church declines to perform same-sex marriages and is sued, the insurance agency said:  

The general liability form does not provide any coverage for this type of situation, since there is no bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, or advertising injury. If a church is concerned about the possibility of a suit, we do offer Miscellaneous Legal Defense Coverage. This is not liability coverage, but rather expense reimbursement for defense costs. There is no coverage for any judgments against an insured.

Basically, a church will need to defend itself in this situation.  

The insurance agency is right to be concerned about their financial future. There is a cascade of lawsuits coming to churches. Many churches will be faced with supporting homosexual marriage, whether they believe it’s a sin or not. This threat is already having real repercussions. Expect church insurance rates to go up and coverage’s to be limited.  

TAKE ACTION:  

Can a church discriminate in it’s hiring practices? How can church membership allow a church to legally deny performing same-sex marriages? When can a church limit it’s facilities use to certain groups? A church’s bylaws and governing rules need to be written in a way to preemptively protect themselves from these lawsuits. Christian legal defense group, Alliance Defense Fund, has put together an import resource for churches. Click here to find the answers. Be sure to forward this important resource to your church leaders and make sure that your church is protected!