Holding: Civil courts cannot enforce internal church governance rules or interpret denominational discipline provisions as doing so would constitute unconstitutional entanglement with ecclesiastical matters under the First Amendment.
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United Methodist Rio Texas Conference v. Disaffiliating Churches is a Church & State case decided by the State Appellate Court in 2025. The court held that civil courts cannot enforce internal church governance rules or interpret denominational discipline provisions as doing so would constitute unconstitutional entanglement with ecclesiastical matters under the First Amendment.