In Henry v. Red Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tustin, California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, plaintiff Sara Henry (Henry), a teacher at a school affiliated with the Lutheran church, was terminated when the school learned that she was living out of wedlock with her boyfriend, with whom she had a child.

When the school discerned that she did not intend to marry her boyfriend, or cease to live with him, it terminated her. The school terminated Henry because her conduct in living with her boyfriend violated the religious beliefs of the church and the school.