Herzog v. St. Peter Lutheran Church, 884 F. Supp. 2d 668

Herzog taught at St. Peter from 1987 to 2009 as both a lay and then called teacher.
Called teachers are regarded as Ministers of Religion by Missouri Synod and receive a Diploma of Vocation.
Herzog received a Diploma of Vocation and a Supplement, with duties to teach and to promote Lutheran faith.
She taught secular subjects using secular textbooks but under church policy required Christian instruction in all subjects and engaged in regular religious activities.
In 2010 Herzog was terminated; she filed an Amended Complaint in 2011 alleging age, sex, and marital-status discrimination; St. Peter moved to dismiss invoking the ministerial exception, which the court treated as a Rule 56 summary-judgment matter following Hosanna-Tabor.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the ministerial exception bars Herzog's claims.	Herzog was a commissioned minister (called teacher) and performed religious duties.	The ministerial exception precludes suits challenging church employment decisions against ministers.	Yes; the ministerial exception applies and bars Herzog's discrimination claims.

Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC, 132 S. Ct. 694 (2012) (establishes ministerial exception; factors for identifying ministers; exception is not a jurisdictional bar)
Tomic v. Catholic Diocese of Peoria, 442 F.3d 1036 (7th Cir. 2006) (ministerial exception treated as non-jurisdictional; factors for ministerial status considered)
DeMarco v. Holy Cross High School, 4 F.3d 166 (2d Cir. 1993) (distinguishes cases with minor religious duties from ministers; not controlling here)
Alicea-Hernandez v. Catholic Bishop of Chi., 320 F.3d 698 (7th Cir. 2003) (reiterates that purpose is to determine ministerial status, not motive of discharge)
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church v. Linklater, 421 Md. 664 (Md. 2011) (distinguishes ministerial exception applicability to harassment claims; not controlling)