To prevent losing in court, churches need to remove "standing" by excommunicating the doctrinally unsound

Consider the hypothetical posed here:

"Imagine a same sex couple who consider themselves deeply Catholic want to get married at the Catholic church of their choice. They approach the pastor and he declines to officiate the wedding or be a party to it. The spurned couple might then file a non-discrimination lawsuit against the pastor and his parish making the simple argument that because same-sex marriage is a right protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, a parish cannot discriminate in who it weds and who it doesn't."

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A number of things come to mind, which church leadership throughout the country ought to begin discussing with their legal counsel as soon as possible.

One, couples who want to marry in church should be required as a condition of membership to get married in their own parish. Churches need to state this explicitly in order to have control of their own affairs. Couples should not be free to roam and pick a "patsy" church of their choosing.

Two, all members should be required to sign doctrinal statements which specifically delineate that they agree with the church's teaching about sexuality and marriage as a condition of membership. Members who transfer to new parishes should have to do the same.

Three, churches should state in writing as a matter of principle that the benefits provided by clergy are only for members who have also completed a course of catechesis, affirmed it and have been publicly accepted into membership.

And four, a clear process of excommunication should be in place and followed in order to remove from membership individuals who come to disagree with the church's teaching.

If taken, these steps ought to help protect churches qua religious institutions, and in a court of law make it difficult for plaintiffs to sue because they do not have standing to sue and have executed evidence which contradicts their claims.

Doctrinally rigorous churches such as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod already are well prepared in these respects and represent a good resource for clergy and denominations who are not.