Alberta appeal court rules judges can overturn ‘unfair’ church edicts

Joseph Brean | September 11, 2016 8:07 PM ET

Courts can overturn religious edicts when churches act unfairly, according to the Alberta Court of Appeal, which has allowed a Calgary real estate agent to challenge his shunning, or “disfellowship,” from a community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

But the court’s decision was split, 2-1, as the dissenting judge decided the church is less like a public company and more like a private “bridge club,” which may choose whomever it pleases as a member. That means the case may now be appealed to the Supreme Court, which last addressed this issue 25 years ago when it sided with a man expelled from a Hutterite colony.

The case was brought by Randy Wall, a Jehovah’s Witness from 1980 until his expulsion in 2014, who claims the case against him was procedurally unfair ...

The new ruling in his favour will be relevant to other religious groups, which often deal with controversial expulsions of members or ministers. The United Church of Canada, for example, is seeking to defrock Greta Vosper because she is an atheist. And many Catholics are not in communion with their Church after, for example, divorce and secular remarriage ...

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/religion/alberta-appeal-court-rules-judges-can-overturn-unfair-church-edicts