Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Jonah auditions (Cartoon: Beyond the Ark) Deep talk (Cartoon: Preacher’s Kids) Preacher talk (Cartoon: Joe McKeever)
  • John 3:16
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Archive
  • Cartoons
    • Joe McKeever
    • Beyond the Ark
    • Church of the Covered Dish
    • Fletch
    • Preacher’s Kids
  • Contact
  • Louisiana
  • U.S. & Intl
  • Facts & Finds
  • Culture & Society
  • Editorial

Former member of Obama’s advisory council files lawsuit against State of Georgia for firing him over sermons

April 20, 2016

By First Liberty Institute communications

ATLANTA – Today, First Liberty Institute and the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dr. Eric Walsh against the Georgia Department of Public Health, alleging that state officials engaged in religious discrimination against Walsh by firing him over the content of his sermons. Read more about this case and view lawsuit: firstliberty.org/walsh

Eric Walsh is a public health expert with multiple advanced degrees who served on President Obama’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDs. In May 2014, Walsh accepted a position with Georgia’s Department of Public Health (DPH) to be the District Health Director for Northwest Georgia. A week later, Georgia state officials requested copies of sermons he had preached as a lay minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Topics covered in the sermons included following God, having compassion on the poor, health, marriage, sexuality, world religions, science, creationism, and more.

In an email, the DPH Director of Human Resources assigned several of Dr. Walsh’s sermons to employees to review and critique. (View email) The day after Dr. Walsh provided sermons to the state, government officials informed Dr. Walsh that he was terminated.

“I couldn’t believe they fired me because of things I talked about in my sermons,” said Dr. Walsh. “It was devastating. I have been unable to get a job in public health since then.”

First Liberty Institute, along with Atlanta law firm Parks, Chesin & Walbert, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against the State of Georgia’s Department of Public Health. The complaint charges the state with religious discrimination and retaliation against Dr. Walsh.

“No one should be fired for simply expressing his religious beliefs,” stated Andrew Coffman, partner in the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert and a First Liberty volunteer attorney.  “In America, it is against the law to fire an employee for expressing his religious beliefs – especially when that expression takes place in a church setting.”

“Religious liberty means we should be able to find sanctuary in our own sanctuary,” said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty. “If the government is allowed to fire someone over what he said in his sermons, then they can come after any of us for our beliefs on anything.”

Read more about this case and view a video: firstliberty.org/walsh

Comments

Editorial

Dodgers’ Kershaw has pitch-perfect response to Pride Night

Clayton Kershaw may not have pitched Friday night, but he still made more headlines than most of his teammates. The Dodgers’ star, who happens to be an outspoken Christian, made a splash at the team’s Pride Night by putting a unique twist on Los Angeles’s gear. It was a simple but powerful statement that June will … Read More

Search

  • Trending
  • Recent
  • Must Read

Recent

VIDEO: The Baptist Paper report from Kerr County, Texa

Search-and-rescue efforts continue in area affected by Texas floods

Texas flooding death toll rises to 24 as Christian summer camp kids remain missing

Must Read

President Trump: ‘We love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them.’

Foundation Executive Director
Jeffrey Steed to retire

Speaker Johnson to Calvary students:

Live to make an ‘impact’

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme 2.1 On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in