Federal Judge Rules Hermon School Committee Violated Pines Church’s First Amendment Right, Maine Human Rights Act

Pines Church currently rents space on a month-to-month basis at Spotlight Cinemas in Orono for its weekly services, attended by around 150 people.

Official response and confirmed impact

The only committee member to vote against doing business with Pines Church entirely was found to have asked “intrusive” questions regarding the church’s denomination and views on diversity, equity and inclusion, abortion, and LGBTQ+ issues.

“If a public school’s facilities are available for public use, a religious organization cannot be denied access to those facilities because it is a religious organization,” Judge Walker said in his ruling.

“The Free Exercise Clause ‘bars even ‘subtle departures from neutrality’ on matters of religion.'”

“There are certainly facts in this record that toe the line between apprehension toward the Church itself and legitimate concerns about complications that arise with a new type of use for a school,” Walker explained.

“But novelty is not a basis to discriminate against religious organizations and whatever novelty this situation presented to the Committee was demystified by the sound legal advice its lawyers provided to the Committee before its discussion and decision.”

Incident under investigation

The court found that the Hermon School Committee violated Pines Church’s First Amendment rights because it was “more likely than not that discriminatory animus” was a motivating factor in its rejection of the Church’s request for a year-long lease, as at least three School Committee members were said to have exhibited “bad motives” throughout the deliberation process.