Georgia Supreme Court OKs Judicial Determination Of Church Membership List

In Bolden v. Barton, (Ga. Sup. Ct., July 6,2006), the Georgia Supreme Court held that in a property dispute among members of a church that governed itself congregationally, the trial court acted properly in ordering an election to decide which of two factions should control church property. The fact that the court had to determine which individuals were members eligible to vote in order to decide which faction represented a majority of the church's membership did not involve the court in deciding matters of religious doctrine.