Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 4, Remove Religious Minister Disqualification Amendment (2022)

Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 4
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic State legislatures measures and Religion
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 4, the Remove Religious Minister Disqualification Amendment, appeared on the ballot in Tennessee as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported repealing Section 1 of Article IX of the Tennessee Constitution, which stated that religious ministers were disqualified from being elected to the state General Assembly.

A "no" vote opposed repealing Section 1 of Article IX of the Tennessee Constitution.

Election results

Tennessee Amendment 4
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,020,981	63.24%
No		593,461	36.76%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Amendment 4 change?

See also: Text of the measure

Amendment 4 repealed Section 1 of Article IX of the Tennessee Constitution, which said that religious ministers were disqualified from being elected to the state General Assembly. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that forbidding religious ministers from holding public office was unconstitutional. Due to McDaniel v. Paty, the constitutional language was not enforced.

Why were clergy banned from serving in public office?

See also: Clergy serving in office

The practice of prohibiting clergy from serving in public office came from English law to prevent “dual office-holding,” as well as preventing a diminishment of the independence of the House of Commons by the Crown, since ministers in England were subject to the powers of the Crown.

The practice carried over to the United States as 13 states initially established this ban in their constitutions. There was some disagreement among the founding fathers regarding this ban on clergy serving in public office. While some, like Thomas Jefferson, wanted to clearly establish the separation between church and state, others, like James Madison, believed that it violated a “fundamental principle of liberty by punishing a religious profession with the privation of a civil right.”

Did other states ban clergy from serving in public office?

See also: States previously forbidding clergy from serving in public office

According to the McDaniel v. Paty syllabus, 13 states initially banned clergy from serving in public office in the drafting of their constitutions. Only Tennessee and Maryland kept this provision in their constitutions going into the 20th century. In 1978, Maryland put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to remove this provision from their constitution, and voters approved it.

In the McDaniel v. Paty case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban clergy from serving in public office because it violates both the First and Fourteenth amendments. While the law was declared unconstitutional, the provision remained in the Tennessee Constitution.

How did this measure get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

To get a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the ballot, the amendment must pass both houses of the state legislature in two consecutive sessions.

In its first legislative session, the amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 178 (SJR 178) by Senator Mark Pody (R-17) on February 7, 2019. The measure passed the Senate on May 2, 2019, with 100% of the votes (31-0). The measure then passed the House with 100% of the votes (85-0) on June 17, 2020.

In the following legislative session (2021-2022), the amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 55 (SJR 55). On April 8, 2022, the Senate unanimously voted to adopt the amendment with 32 yes votes. On April 24, 2022, the House voted to concur with the Senate, with 89 yes votes and 1 no vote.

Text of the measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall Article IX, Section 1 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by deleting the section?

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

This amendment would delete article IX, section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution, which prohibits ministers of the gospel and priests of any denomination from holding a seat in either House of the legislature.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article IX, Tennessee Constitution

Constitutional Amendment 4 would repeal Section 1 of Article IX of the Tennessee Constitution. The following struck-through text would be deleted:

Whereas ministers of the Gospel are by their profession, dedicated to God and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore, no minister of the Gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible to a seat in either House of the Legislature.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 12, and the FRE is 34. The word count for the ballot title is 15.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 18, and the FRE is 21. The word count for the ballot summary is 32.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Mark Pody (R)
• State Rep. Harold Love (D)
• State Rep. Johnny Shaw (D)

Arguments

• State Rep. Harold Love (D-58): “These are what we might call opportunities to clean up what was already done but not done fully. In the legislature, we’ll have what we call clean up bills … In the Tennessee Constitution, surely, this is something that is no longer applicable but will be an opportunity for the voters to remove the language from it.”
• State Rep. Johnny Shaw (D-80): "I think that clergy are the proper people to serve constituents across the state of Tennessee because I think we will certainly stick as close to what’s right, fair, and equal in all situations."

Oppose

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Background

Clergy serving in office

This section contains information from the McDaniel v. Paty syllabus. According to the syllabus, the disqualification of members of the clergy from serving in public office initially carried over from English law. There were varying reasons for forbidding clergy from serving in public office. In England, it was to prevent dual office-holding in both the Parliament and Convocation, and to "insure that the priest or deacon devoted himself to his sacred calling" rather than to "such mundane activities as were appropriate to a member of the House of Commons.” Preventing clergy from serving in public office could have also been a means to prevent ministers from using membership in the House of Commons to diminish the government’s independence, since ministers were subject to the powers of the Crown.

In the United States, seven original states and six of the new states carried this English practice over into their own laws. States may have prevented clergy from serving to establish the separation of church and state.

Thomas Jefferson, when drafting a 1783 version of the Virginia Constitution, advocated for preventing clergy from serving in public office, taking the stance of the philosopher John Locke, who argued for confining the power of clergy "within the bounds of the church, nor can it in any manner be extended to civil affairs; because the church itself is a thing absolutely separate and distinct from the commonwealth." James Madison disagreed with this view, saying "does not the exclusion of Ministers of the Gospel as such violate a fundamental principle of liberty by punishing a religious profession with the privation of a civil right?”

States previously forbidding clergy from serving in public office

Thirteen states, including Tennessee, had provisions in their constitution forbidding clergy from serving in the state legislature. Seven of the original states carried over this practice from English law while six additional states created similar laws. Eleven states–Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia–amended their constitutions and dropped these provisions during the late 1700’s and 1800’s. Maryland and Tennessee kept these provisions in their constitutions into the 20th century. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Tennessee law was unconstitutional in its McDaniel v. Paty ruling because it violated the First Amendment. That same year, Maryland put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to remove the provision from their constitution, and voters approved the removal. Tennessee was the only state left with this kind of provision in its constitution.

McDaniel v. Paty

When Tennessee first established its constitution in 1796, it included a statute that prohibited clergy from serving as legislators. In 1977, Paul A. McDaniel, a Baptist minister, filed as a candidate to run for office. An opposing candidate, Selma Cash Paty, sued in the Chancery Court for a declaratory judgment that McDaniel was disqualified. The Chancellor Franks of the Chancery Court ruled that the statute prohibiting clergy from serving as legislators was unconstitutional and violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. After the election, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the decision by the Chancery Court and held that the disqualification of clergy from serving in public office imposed no burden on religious belief and restricted "religious action … [only] in the lawmaking process of government—where religious action is absolutely prohibited by the establishment clause.” The court held that the justification of separating church and state was sufficient to justify the disqualification. The U.S. Supreme Court later struck down this decision, ruling that prohibiting ministers from serving in public office is unconstitutional because it violates both the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Tennessee Constitution

In Tennessee, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment requires a vote in each chamber of the Tennessee State Legislature in two successive legislative sessions with an election in between. However, there are two different vote requirements depending on the session. During the first legislative session, the constitutional amendment needs to receive a simple majority (50%+1) vote in each legislative chamber. During the second legislative session, the constitutional amendment needs to receive a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber.

2019-2020

This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 178 on February 7, 2019. On May 2, 2019, the state Senate passed SJR 178 in a vote of 31-0. On June 17, 2020, the state House passed SJR 178 in a vote of 85-0.

Vote in the Tennessee State Senate May 2, 2019
Requirement: Approval in two legislative sessions is required; a simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in the first and a two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber in the second
Number of yes votes required: 16  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	31	0	0
Total percent	100%	0%	0%
Democrat	4	0	0
Republican	27	0	0

Vote in the Tennessee House of Representatives June 17, 2020
Requirement: Approval in two legislative sessions is required; a simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in the first and a two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber in the second
Number of yes votes required: 46  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	85	0	0
Total percent	100%	0%	0%
Democrat	20	0	0
Republican	65	0	0

2021-2022

The amendment was introduced in its second legislative session as Senate Joint Resolution 55. On April 8, 2021, the state Senate approved SJR 55 by a vote of 32-0. On April 8, 2022, the Senate unanimously voted to adopt the amendment with 32 yes votes. And on April 24, 2022, the House voted to concur with the Senate, with 89 yes votes and 1 no vote.

Vote in the Tennessee State Senate April 8, 2021
Requirement: Approval in two legislative sessions is required; a simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in the first and a two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber in the second
Number of yes votes required: 22  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	32	0	1
Total percent	96.97%	0.00%	3.03%
Democrat	5	0	1
Republican	27	0	0

Vote in the Tennessee House of Representatives April 27, 2022
Requirement: Approval in two legislative sessions is required; a simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in the first and a two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber in the second
Number of yes votes required: 66  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	89	1	8
Total percent	90%	1%	8%
Democrat	23	1	1
Republican	66	0	7

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• State legislatures measures on the ballot
• Religion on the ballot

Tennessee

• Tennessee ballot measures
• Tennessee ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Tennessee

Click "Show" to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Tennessee.

How to cast a vote in Tennessee

Poll times Each county election commission must determine the opening time for polling places in the county at least 15 days before an election, with certain requirements based on county population. All polling places close at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST). The polls must be open for a minimum of 10 consecutive hours, but not more than 13 hours. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Tennessee, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Tennessee, and at least 18 years old by the day of the next election. Prospective voters can register online, by mailing a voter registration application to the county election commission, or in person at a variety of locations including the county clerk’s office, the county election commission office, public libraries, and numerous state agencies. Registration must be completed 30 days before an election. Automatic registration Tennessee does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Tennessee has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Tennessee does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Tennessee, you must be a resident of the state. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Tennessee does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, providing false information on an application "is a felony punishable by not less than two (2) years nor more than twelve (12) years imprisonment or a fine of $5,000 or both." Tennessee law requires election officials to conduct check of voter registration applicants' citizenship status. Section 2-2-141 of the Tennessee Code states the following: “ ‘’’2-2-141. Proof of citizenship for registering to vote.’’’ (a) The coordinator of elections shall compare the statewide voter registration database with the department of safety database to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in this state. The coordinator of elections is authorized to compare the statewide voter registration database with relevant federal and state agencies and county records for the same purpose. If evidence exists that a particular registered voter is not a citizen of the United States, the coordinator of elections shall notify the county election commission where the person registered to vote that the registered voter may not be a citizen of the United States. (b) After receiving such notice, the county election commission shall send a notice to the registered voter inquiring whether the individual is eligible to be registered to vote. Any registered voter who receives the notice shall, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such notice, provide proof of citizenship to the county election commission. ” —Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-2-141 All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Tennessee secretary of state’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements Tennessee requires voters to present photo identification while voting. Voters can present the following forms of identification: Tennessee driver’s license with photo United States passport Photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government United States Military photo ID Tennessee handgun carry permit with photo The following voters are exempt from the photo ID requirements: Voters who vote absentee by mail Voters who are residents of a licensed nursing home or assisted living center and who vote at the facility Voters who are hospitalized Voters with a religious objection to being photographed Voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee Voters can obtain a free photo ID from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security at any participating driver service center. In order to receive an ID, a voter must bring proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate) and two proofs of Tennessee residency (such as a voter registration card, a utility bill, vehicle registration or title, or bank statement). Visit the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security's Voter Photo ID page for more information.

External links

• Senate Joint Resolution 178 Full Text