Can you sue a church?

Magical Realist

Magical Realist

Valued Senior Member
This lady is suing an evangelistic church for falling down and injuring herself during Holy Spirit possession.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/woman-sues-evangelical-church-for-holy-spirit-injuries-68102/

I saw an ad the other day on TV for a lawfirm that specialized in lawsuits against the Church of Scientology and their questionable practices. CAN a church be sued for damages, mental suffering, sex abuse, or even wrongful death? Or does religion get a carte blanche when it comes to whatever the hell it wants to do to you?
 
Ive seen people get the Holey Gost... then jump around/fall down/roll around/run around the pews wit ther eyes closed an ther arms folded over ther chest... etc... an none of 'em got hurt... an that woman can prolly sue the church... but from my religious perspective... i dout she realy got the Holey Gost or she woudnt of got hurt.!!!
 
Hey…maybe we should file a class action suit, you know, for false advertising.
 
I think that many people that were sexually abused by Priests were suing the church for doing so. The church didn't want to go to court so those who sued got paid off by the church so that their Priests could go back to another church and molest children again.
 
You certainly ought to be able to. Freedom of religion does not mean that a religious organization can commit illegal and abusive acts.
Now, what constitutes these is a bit more hazy. Especially when certain jurisdiction pass laws designed to target a specific religion, as Hialeah, Florida did in 1992 in an attempt to persecute a Santeria organization.
 
Having experienced American Evangelical church, I have to say that the woman shouldn't have a case for the same reason that people who engage in sport like downhill skiing and boxing make the conscious choice to take the risks associated with participation.

But this December 2011 case isn't news -- the case was decided on April 9, 2013.

Originally suing for 50,000 USD, she settled for 3000 USD which goes to pay Medicare and the rest to her lawyers. Cheryl Jones died sometime in 2012-2013.

http://madisonrecord.com/news/25522...l-as-congregants-rushed-to-receive-the-spirit
 
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Nice to see you in the religion forum, brother rpenner! Based on your experience, would you mind providing the readers with your take on the "American Evangelical church"? Now, I know that doing so might be construed as a tad unorthodox to some of our more sensitive members so, if you choose not to that's understandable.
 
Highly commercial ventures, more than a bit flakey, lots of efforts for hawking lame books and gewgaws, one was so fly-by-night it was called "Church on the Move" which seems apropos for its location in an industrial park.
 
Texas Beer Joint Sues Church in MT.Vernon, Texas.
Drummond's Bar began construction on an expansion of their building to increase their business. In response, the local Baptist Church started a campaign with petitions and prayers to block the bar from expanding. Work progressed right up until the week before the grand reopening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground! After it was burned to the ground by the lightning strike, the church folks were rather smug in their outlook, bragging about "the power of prayer", until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church ... "was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means." In its reply to the court, the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise. The judge read through the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply, and at the opening hearing he commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but it appears from the paperwork that we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that now does not."
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There are several cute fictional stories but according to Wikipedia the one below was an actual law suit.

A Romanian prisoner, identified as Pavel M, serving 20 years after being convicted of murder, filed a lawsuit against the Romanian Orthodox Church, as God's representatives in Romania, for failing to keep him from the Devil, essentially stating that his baptism had been a binding contract.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_against_God#Actual_suits
 
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