Category: bylaws

“Churches’ Bill of Rights” from Ind. Att’y Gen. & Lt. Gov.

On May 14, 2025, Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita and its Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith jointly released a “Churches’ Bill of Rights: A Legal Guidebook.” The 30-page resource (available to download here) collects legal principles related to churches’ tax exemptions, speech protections, freedom to worship and live out religious principles, eligibility for government benefits, and governance. It also contains some guidance on public health and safety, some of which apply to religious individuals rather than churches. It explains Indiana and federal principles in a question-and-answer format. And it includes an appendix collecting Indiana and federal constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions.

This guidebook updates a letter Attorney General Rokita issued in 2024 ahead of that year’s election, which focused on tax exemption and advocacy. (Available here.)

The guidebook is a good resource for Indiana religious organizations as a starting point to understand their distinctive treatment under state and federal law. It is not a comprehensive collection of all legal principles that treat religious organizations or individuals distinctively, nor is it a replacement to professional legal or tax advice.

7th Cir.: Terminated Fraternity Member Cannot Bring Claim Based Merely on Improper Procedure

Earlier this week, the Seventh Circuit reminded us that Indiana courts do not interfere with a voluntary association’s internal affairs—like membership decisions—absent some showing of “fraud, other illegality, or abuse of civil or property rights.” It cited 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘈𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘷. 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 and affirmed the lower court’s dismissal in an unpublished order without oral argument.

The appeal involved a pro se plaintiff who sued his fraternity because it terminated his lifetime membership for allegedly arbitrary and personal reasons. As the court explained, “Misapplying the organization’s rules, however, is not in itself illegal or fraudulent.” Because it was “an internal matter,” it is “not subject to judicial intervention.”

Nothing new or exciting, but it reminds us of the broad leeway Indiana membership nonprofits—including religious organizations—have in policing their own procedures.

Read the order here.

“Bylaws: Indemnification”

“Bylaws: Indemnification” Every set of church and related ministry bylaws should address whether, to what extent, and under what conditions the legal and related costs of board members, employees, and other agents will be covered. Gene Takagi at Nonprofit Law Blog has a good overview here. Takagi’s piece includes a list and brief description of related types of insurance. It also mentions a couple specific items related to California law as well as a relevant section of a California statute that may not apply to your organization. Make sure to consult a legal professional in your jurisdiction.