In United States law

Law of the United States

The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...

, confessional privilege is a rule of evidence

Rules of evidence

Rules of evidence govern whether, when, how, and for what purpose, proof of a legal case may be placed before a trier of fact for consideration....

 that forbids the inquiry into the content or even existence of certain communications between clergy and communicants.

It grows out of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

, the common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

, and statutory

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...

 enactments which may vary between jurisdictions.

Statute

All fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have enacted statutory privileges providing that at least some communications between clergyman and parishioners are privileged.

Common law

Prior to the adoption of statutory protections, there was some protection under common law.

• New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
  : In People v. Phillips (1 Southwest L. J., 90), in the year 1813, the Court of General Sessions in New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
   recognized the privilege as in a decision rendered by De Witt Clinton, recognized the privilege as applying to Rev. Anthony Kohlmann
  Anthony Kohlmann
  Anthony Kohlmann was a German Jesuit. He is known for his part in the establishment of confessional privilege in United States law. He spent nearly a quarter of a century in the USA as an educator.-Life:...
  
  , S.J., who refused to reveal in court information received under the seal of confession. (Incidentally, the successful argument in favor of the privilege was made by William Sampson
  William Sampson (attorney)
  William Sampson was an Irish Protestant lawyer known for his defense of religious liberty in Ireland and America.-Early life:...
  
  , a Protestant lawyer exiled from Ireland for defending Catholics.)

There is also Smith's case reported in the "New York City Hall Recorder", vol. II, p.77, which, apparently, was decided in the same way.

• Massachusetts
  Massachusetts
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
  
  : In Commonwealth v. Drake [(1818) 15 Mass., 154], it was argued on the one side that a confession of a criminal offence made penitentially by a member of a certain Church to other members, in accordance with the discipline of that Church, may not be given in evidence. These others (who were not clergy) were called as witnesses. The solicitor-general argued that religious confession was not protected from disclosure. He also took the point that in this case "the confession was not to the church nor required by any known ecclesiastical rule", but was made voluntarily to friends and neighbours. The court held that the evidence was rightly received (not protected).

Issues

The privilege is defined in over 50 separate statutes and may therefore vary in important ways:

• Who qualifies as a member of the clergy
• What communications are covered by the privilege
• Who holds the privilege

See also

• Privilege (evidence)
  Privilege (evidence)
  An evidentiary privilege is a rule of evidence that allows the holder of the privilege to refuse to provide evidence about a certain subject or to bar such evidence from being disclosed or used in a judicial or other proceeding....
  
  
• Confidentiality
  Confidentiality
  Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several professions . In ethics, and in law and alternative forms of legal resolution such as mediation, some types of communication between a person and one of these professionals are "privileged" and may not be discussed or divulged to...
  
  
• Duty of confidentiality
  Duty of confidentiality
  In common law jurisdictions, the duty of confidentiality obliges a solicitor to respect the confidentiality of his client's affairs. Information that a solicitor obtains about his clients' affairs may be confidential, and must not be used for the benefit of persons not authorised by the client...
  
  
• Admissible evidence
  Admissible evidence
  Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a factfinder—usually a judge or jury—in order to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding...