Whether the First Amendment's 'ministerial exception' should be understood as an immunity from judicial interference in church employment decisions falling within the exception, or instead as a mere defense against liability

QUESTIONS PRESENTED I. Whether the First Amendment’s “ministerial exception” should be understood as an immunity from judicial interference in church employment decisions falling within the exception, or instead as a mere defense against liability. This overarching question controls the answer to three sub-questions: A. Whether the ministerial exception protects churches against merits discovery and trial; B. Whether ministerial status is a legal question for the court or a fact question for the jury; and C. Whether denial of a dispositive motion to invoke the ministerial exception is appealable on an interlocutory basis. II. Whether the ministerial exception applies here to bar employment discrimination claims by a school chaplain who led chapel services, taught in the Bible department, and provided spiritual guidance and counseling to students.