Austin, TX- The Texas Supreme Court will hear the landmark case, The HEB Ministries, Inc., et al. v. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, et al, tomorrow, Jan. 5, in Austin. This case will determine whether seminaries in Texas will be regulated by the state.
“This is an historic case and one of the most important church-state cases to ever come before the Texas Supreme Court,” said Kelly Shackelford, chief council for Liberty Legal Institute.
The case will be heard before the eight Supreme Court justices shortly after 9:30AM in the Capitol building.
This case originated when Tyndale Seminary was fined $173,000 by the state for operating as a seminary in Texas and issuing theological degrees without a license from the state.
Under current law, seminaries are not allowed to exist in Texas unless the state approves its board, curriculum and professors.
Tyndale Seminary, Hispanic Bible Institute and an African-American seminary filed suit against the state for violating the U.S. and Texas constitutions. The suit argues that government attempts to control the religious training of future members of the clergy are unconstitutional.
“The outcome will forever determine the way the future leaders of our churches are trained. If the state controls the religious training and education of church leaders, it is able to control all of our churches and religious organizations,” Shackelford said.
For more information on the Tyndale Seminary Case, case number 03-0995, CLICK HERE.