Religious Employment and Title VII: Part 5—Common Objections to a Textualist Reading of Title VII's Religious Employer Exemption

In this final installment of our series on religious employment under Title VII, we address common objections to the textualist interpretation we describe in our BYU Law Review article. Each objection fails because it ignores Section 702's text or conflates statutory exemptions with constitutional doctrines. We conclude by expressing appreciation for Congress's handiwork—a statute that pursues equality and liberty together.

Racial Discrimination

Critics object that a textualist interpretation of Section 702 would open the door to racial discrimination. Not so.