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Texas High Court Agrees to Hear Critical Church-State Case

by Allie Martin
December 8, 2004

(AgapePress) - The Texas Supreme Court has decided to hear a case which will determine whether seminaries in the state will be regulated by the government.

The case is known as The HEB Ministries, Inc., et al. v. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, et al. It began in 1998 when Tyndale Theological Seminary, operated by HEB Ministries, was fined $173,000 by the state for operating as a seminary and issuing theological degrees without a license from the state. Tyndale and two other Texas seminaries -- Hispanic Bible Institute of San Antonio and Southern Bible Institute in Dallas -- filed a lawsuit, arguing that government attempts to control the religious training of future clergy members are unconstitutional. Under current state law, no seminary is allowed to exist unless its board, curriculum, and professors are approved by the state.

Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for Liberty Legal Institute in Plano, says the outcome of the case -- which he describes as "one of the most important church-state cases to ever come before the Texas Supreme Court" -- could conflict with a right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

"If churches and seminaries don't have the freedom to teach theology and train pastors, if [instead] the government is ... in control of that, then we really don't have religious freedom," Shackelford explains, "because all the future religious leaders and pastors will be under the control of the government." And if that happens, he adds, "[the state] is able to control all of our churches and religious organizations."

The state, the attorney says, has no constitutional right to control the training of the future members of the clergy. He believes this case could potentially deliver a strong message favoring religious freedom.

"We're hopeful that this will stop this new attempt that is now going on around the country, where states are trying to begin to regulate and take over our seminaries," he says. "And hopefully this will be a real shot [across] the bow of that attempt by states who are trying to infringe upon religious freedom."

The case will be heard before the Texas Supreme Court in early January. Shackelford says a ruling on the case should come by next summer.

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