A Christian ministry in Washington state won its case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday with respect to a law threatening its ability to hire like-minded people.
Yakima Union Gospel Mission, a homeless shelter in the central portion of the state, only hires employees with shared beliefs on biblical marriage and sexuality, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the ministry in court.
The ministry serves people without respect to their beliefs, but in terms of their staff, they only hire like-minded Christians.
But that practice was challenged by a Washington state law threatening “significant penalties and liability for hiring only those who share its religious beliefs and convictions,” per the ADF.
The 9th Circuit nevertheless recognized the right of Yakima Union Gospel Mission to continue their hiring practices under the First Amendment.
“If a religious organization’s hiring of co-religionists for non-ministerial positions rests on its sincerely held religious beliefs, then the church autonomy doctrine forbids government interference with that hiring decision,” the 9th Circuit concluded.
HUGE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WIN: Today the Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled in favor of Yakima Union Gospel Mission, a Christian homeless ministry seeking to uphold its right to hire employees who share its faith.@ADFLegal represented the Mission in its case against Washington state,… pic.twitter.com/08eGTexK6I
— Kristen Waggoner (@KristenWaggoner) January 6, 2026
ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus, who argued before the court, commended the decision.
“Religious organizations shouldn’t be punished for exercising their constitutionally protected freedom to hire employees who are aligned with and live out their shared religious beliefs,” Galus remarked.
“Yakima Union Gospel Mission exists to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics,” he added.
“The 9th Circuit correctly ruled that the First Amendment protects the mission’s freedom to hire fellow believers who share that calling.”
The Christian Post reported that the Washington law bans hiring discrimination with respect to so-called sexual orientation and gender identity, creating tension with biblical teaching on such matters.
Yakima Union Gospel Mission requires employees to abstain from “any sexual conduct outside of biblical marriage between one man and one woman.”
The litigation in the case dates back to 2023, when a district court initially dismissed the lawsuit.
The 9th Circuit ultimately concluded that “the First and Fourteenth Amendments permit hierarchical religious organizations to establish their own rules and regulations for internal discipline and government.”
That means “the Constitution requires that civil courts accept their decisions as binding upon them.”
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