Thou Shalt Not Sue: The Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine In Tennessee

Like most commercial litigators, I do not often find myself dealing with questions of religion or divine providence during work hours. However, that is exactly where I found myself last Easter (ironically enough), working through the night to defend a temporary injunction hearing that sought to remove our client, a Tennessee pastor, from his position in the church. We defeated the temporary injunction and ultimately won on a motion to dismiss using what can only be described as a judicially-created 11^th Commandment- Thou Shalt Not Sue Thy Pastor.

It is well-settled in Tennessee that "civil courts have no jurisdiction over inner-ecclesiastical matters of the church."¹ This lack of jurisdiction comes from the Tennessee Constitution's state analogs to the Free Exercise and Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. Specifically, courts cannot adjudicate disputes concerning religious "policy and administration," nor can they change the "religious doctrine