Barnes v. Inhabitants of the First Parish in Falmouth
6 Mass. 400 (1810)
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Rule of Law:
Under the third article of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, only a public Protestant teacher of a legally incorporated religious society is entitled to receive tax funds collected for the support of public worship.
Facts:
- The plaintiff, Barnes, was a minister for a voluntary society of Universalist Christians in Falmouth.
- This Universalist society was not a legally incorporated entity.
- Several inhabitants of the First Parish in Falmouth were members of Barnes's congregation and regularly attended his instruction.
- The First Parish in Falmouth was an incorporated religious society.
- Barnes's congregants directed that the taxes they paid to the First Parish for religious worship be paid over to Barnes for his support.
- The First Parish in Falmouth refused to transfer the tax money to Barnes.
Procedural Posture:
- The plaintiff, Barnes, sued the defendant, the Inhabitants of the First Parish in Falmouth, in a state court of first instance to recover tax money.
- At trial, the plaintiff offered evidence that he was the teacher of a voluntary society of Universalists whose members attended his instruction.
- The trial judge rejected this evidence.
- The judge's ruling was based on the legal ground that only a Protestant teacher of an incorporated religious society could maintain such an action.
- The plaintiff excepted to the trial judge's ruling, bringing the case before this court for review.
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Issue:
Does the third article of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights permit a public teacher of a voluntary, unincorporated religious society to recover taxes paid by his congregants for the support of public worship?
Opinions:
Majority - Parsons, C. J.
No. The Massachusetts Constitution does not authorize a teacher of an unincorporated religious society to recover taxes designated for religious support. The third article of the Declaration of Rights, which requires towns and parishes to support public Protestant teachers, applies only to 'bodies politic' or 'religious societies' that are legally incorporated. The term 'religious societies' is explanatory of 'bodies politic,' meaning they must have corporate powers to legally perform duties like assessing taxes and electing a teacher. A voluntary, unincorporated association is a 'private society' unknown to the law, whereas a 'public society' is one formed by state authority. To allow teachers of private societies to claim these funds would undermine the incorporated parishes, which remain legally obligated to support a teacher, by encouraging division and siphoning away their means of support. The constitutional provision allowing a person to direct their taxes to a teacher of their own denomination only applies if that teacher also serves an incorporated society.
Analysis:
This decision narrowly interprets the religious establishment provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution, tying state financial support for religion directly to the corporate status of a religious society. By defining 'public' religious societies as only those that are legally incorporated, the court solidified the privileged position of established parishes over newer, dissenting, or voluntary religious groups. This ruling effectively denied state-sanctioned financial support to unincorporated sects, reinforcing a legal and financial hierarchy among religious denominations and highlighting the tension between the state's goal of promoting public morality and the equal treatment of all religious believers.
