In a decision striking for its simplicity and unanimity, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the First Amendment protects the right of religious organizations to choose their own ministers. Americans may breathe a sigh of relief that the court saw the danger to religious liberty that would have come from adopting the Obama administration’s position, which was counter to the Constitution and common sense.

The case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, arose after teacher and minister Cheryl Perich developed narcolepsy and missed a lot of work. The school hired a replacement. Perich threatened to sue if the school didn’t let her keep her job. The school fired her. She filed a discrimination complaint.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously — against Perich. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “…the First Amendment requires dismissal of this employment discrimination suit against her employer.”

Requires? Yes. Perich was both a teacher and a minister. As a minister, she had religious duties. The court has long held that the First Amendment creates a “ministerial exemption” to employment discrimination law. The exemption “ensures that authority to select and control who will minister to the faithful is the church’s alone,” Roberts wrote.

All nine justices, including the two appointed by President Obama, agreed that this control was “the church’s alone.” Obama appointee Elena Kagan even went so far as to join Justice Samuel Alito in a concurring opinion arguing that the exemption should be broader so that it covered any employees who conduct religious ceremonies or rituals.

The most important attorney in the federal government to take the contrary position — the one rejected unanimously by the court — was President Obama. Administration lawyers argued that the freedom of religion did not even apply in this case. That is how radical this President is. In an attempt to extend the government’s control into places it was never meant to go, he dismissed the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.