Melissa Murray interviewed by National Public Radio, July 15, 2014
According to University of California Berkeley law professor Melissa Murray, there’s a legal strategy behind these morals clauses. “The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted from the text of the First Amendment what is known as a ministerial exception.” Murray says the ministerial exception holds that if you are hired as a minister, then you can be fired for religious reasons. And Murray says, contract language that elevates teachers to the role of ministers can be seen as a reaction to more and more states legalizing same-sex marriage.