The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sided with Christian Brothers Automotive Corporation in a lawsuit brought by Evan Domanic, a Jewish man who was denied a franchise because he is not a Christian. The court held that while Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 protects against discrimination based on Jewish ethnicity or ancestry, it does not reach discrimination motivated purely by religion.
Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan explained that the statute's 19th-century conception of "race" included ethnic groups such as Jews, but that Congress never intended Section 1981 to bar religious discrimination. The panel also found no evidence that the company's policy of franchising only to professing Christians was a pretext for ethnic discrimination, noting that Christian Brothers has franchised to at least two ethnic Jews who are professing Christians.
The decision aligns with the Seventh Circuit, which has twice rejected similar arguments that Jewish ethnicity and faith are inseparable under Section 1981. The court emphasized that if evidence of pretext existed, Domanic's claim would go to a jury, but none was presented. The ruling leaves open the possibility of religious discrimination claims under other statutes, but not under Section 1981.