discipline and the composition of the church hierarchy are at the core of ecclesiastical concern”). 1. The Ministerial Exception Relying on these and other eases, this circuit and a number of others have long held that the Free Exercise Clause exempts the selection of clergy from Title VII and similar statutes and,' as a consequence, precludes civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination suits by ministers against the church or religious institution employing them. See, e.g., Minker v. Baltimore Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 894 F.2d 1354, 1358 (D.C.Cir.1990) (adjudication of minister’s Age Discrimination in Employment Act claim against his church would violate the Free Exercise Clause); McClure v. Salvation Army, 460 F.2d 553, 558, 560 (5th Cir.1972) (<HOLDING>); Young v. Northern Illinois Conference of
holding that the special relationship exception does not apply to the relationship between a student and a school recognizing relationship between malice and reprehensibility recognizing that the relationship between an organized church and its ministers is its lifeblood and that application of title vii to this relationship would encroach on religious freedom recognizing the existence of the special relationship holding application of title vii to the employment relationship between the salvation army and its ordained minister would involve a review that would cause improper state intrusion on matters of church governance