The Clergyman's Hand-book of Law: The Law of Church and GraveScanlan, Charles Martin
Religion
The Clergyman's Hand-book of Law: The Law of Church and Grave
Scanlan, Charles Martin
Burial laws -- United States; Ecclesiastical law -- United States
*307.* _Collateral Attack._—A devise of land to a religious society which
will increase the title beyond the amount that is allowed by statute, can
not be attacked collaterally by a private individual.(548) It is for the
State and not for the individual to make inquiry into excess on the part
of a religious society in its accumulation.(549)
CHAPTER XXII. RELIGIOUS SERVICES
*308.* _Worship, Discipline, Innovations._—The denomination itself,
according to its rules and regulations, determines what services shall
form a part of its public worship. The inferior authority in the church
has no right to violate the discipline by innovations. Whether or not
devotional singing may be accompanied with instrumental music, must be
determined by those who administer the discipline of the church.(550)
*309.* _Doctrines, Temporal Affairs._—The fact that the congregation sells
the pews does not give the owners the right to determine what doctrines
shall be preached in the church, nor who shall preach them.(551) A
majority of a local church can not change the faith of the church against
the protest of the minority.(552) The corporation of the congregation is
governed by the majority only in temporal affairs.(553) However, some of
the Protestant churches are so independent that a vote of the congregation
may transfer them from one denomination to another.(554)
*310.* _Contributions, Presbyterians, Methodists._—Where certain persons
by contributions built a church and the title was taken and held by the
Presbyterians who permitted all other denominations to hold services
therein, all of which was a condition of the subscriptions for
establishing the church, when the Presbyterians sold out to the Methodists
and they held it for their own exclusive use, those who contributed the
money had the right to resort to the court to enforce their rights to
worship in such church.(555)
*311.* _True Religion, Courts._—Ordinarily the civil courts do not
interfere where there is a question as to which of two or more parties is
adhering to the true religious teaching of the denomination. If no
question of property or civil rights arises, the court will not
interfere.(556)
*312.* _Heresy, Injunction._—Where a minister did not preach the doctrine
and the entire system of Calvinistic theology received and taught by that
denomination, he had no right to the pulpit of the church, and the court
granted an injunction against his officiating therein.(557)
*313.* _Bequest, Sects, Condition._—Where a bequest was made to erect a
place of worship with the privilege for other sects to worship therein and
forever to be used as such, the trustees in whom the title vested had no
authority to sell without the consent of the grantor or his heirs; and the
congregation having sold the church property and it having been thereafter
used for a store, the grantor’s heirs had a right of entry for condition
broken.(558)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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