A federal appeals court ruled that the United States Constitution bars the civil courts from resolving a dispute over a parliamentary ruling made at the 1985 Southern Baptist Convention.
Noting that the contested parliamentary action had been reviewed and upheld by the highest Southern Baptist tribunal, the court concluded that "where religious organizations establish rules for their internal discipline and governance, and tribunals for adjudicating disputes over these matters, the Constitution requires that civil courts accept their decisions as binding upon them." Crowder v. Southern Baptist Convention, 828 F.2d 718 (11th Cir. 1987)
