Texas Supreme Court Says Church Can’t Be Held Liable for Exorcism

First Amendment

Texas Supreme Court Says Church Can’t Be Held Liable for Exorcism

Posted Jun 30, 2008, 10:54 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The Texas Supreme Court has held the First Amendment protects a church from liability for an exorcism performed on a teen who claims the incident traumatized her.

Laura Schubert was 17 when members of the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God tried to exorcise demons from her in 1996, report the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Austin American-Statesman. Schubert later tried to commit suicide and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 6-3 decision said the suit mostly concerned emotional injuries from religious activities sanctioned by the church. "The case, as tried, presents an ecclesiastical dispute over religious conduct that would unconstitutionally entangle the court in matters of church doctrine," the court said in the June 27 opinion.

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Posted by Trey - 5 months, 7 hours, 39 minutes ago

From now on, my first question at a new church will be “Do you practice ‘laying on of hands’? Or other forms of battery and/or false imprisonment, for that matter?“

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