California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Vukovich v. Radulovich, 235 Cal.App.3d 281, 286 Cal.Rptr. 547 (Cal. App. 1991):
In Providence Baptist the court found it had jurisdiction to consider the question whether a church had followed its own bylaws and internal procedures in discharging a pastor: "As long as civil or property rights are involved, the courts will entertain jurisdiction of controversies in religious bodies although some ecclesiastical matters are incidentally involved. (Rosicrucian Fellowship v. Rosicrucian Fellowship Non-Sectarian Church [1952] 39 Cal.2d 121, 245 P.2d 481.) That there are civil and property rights present is apparent from the findings and judgment. The real property of the organization and funds collected are involved. Necessarily involved in the determination of who shall be pastor is the question of who shall receive the emoluments of the office, which presents a problem involving civil and property rights." (40 Cal.2d at pp. 60-61, 251 P.2d 10, emphasis added.)
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