Should Christians who oppose same-sex marriage based on
religious beliefs be allowed to obtain degrees in counseling? That’s the question at the heart of a lawsuit
filed in federal court by a former student at Missouri State University (MSU) who
claims he was kicked out of a master’s program in counseling because of his
religious beliefs. Andrew Cash claims he
was “targeted and punished for expressing his Christian worldview regarding a
hypothetical situation concerning whether he would provide counseling to a
gay/homosexual couple.”
MSU spokeswoman Suzanne Shaw told the News-Leader that the “university strictly prohibits discrimination
on the basis of religion or any other protected class.” She would not comment on specifics of the
case.
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Kristi
Perryman, the counseling department’s internship coordinator, confronted Cash
about his views toward counseling gay people.
Cash told her he would counsel them individually on a variety of issues
but not as a couple. He said he would
refer them elsewhere. Cash explained to
Perryman that his approach to counseling is centered on his “core beliefs, values
and Christian worldview and these would not be congruent with the likely values
and needs of a gay couple, who, for these reasons, would be best served by a
counselor sharing their core value system and core beliefs,” the lawsuit
states. Perryman then told Cash that he
“could not hold these views, which she deemed to be unethical, and which, she
asserted, contradicted the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics as
discriminatory toward gay persons.”
“It made me angry,” said attorney Tom Olp with the Thomas
More Society – a law firm that specializes in religious liberty issues. “She [Dr. Perryman] took offense at his
religious beliefs and then essentially kept dwelling on those until he was
drummed out of the program.” Olp is
suing Perryman and a host of other university officials – including Tamara
Arthaud, the head of the counseling department and faculty member Angela
Anderson.
“We have this very dangerous trend towards allowing the
government to shut down religious expression,” Olp told Todd Starnes of FoxNews. “That is contrary to the First Amendment. A democracy requires vibrant expression of
various points of view and it really needs robust religious expression.”
Cash’s troubles began in the spring of 2011 when he began a
university-approved internship at the Springfield Marriage and Family
Institute, a Christian organization. It
was during a classroom presentation that the director of the Christian group
was asked about counseling gay persons. A
week later, Cash was informed he would no longer be allowed to intern at the
institute. He was also grilled about his
personal views regarding counseling homosexuals, the lawsuit states.
In 2014, Cash was just a few courses shy of graduating with
a M.S. in Counseling. He had a 3.81 GPA
and was a student in good-standing with the school.
Olp told Starnes it’s not the first time Christians have
been thrown out of counseling program in public universities – citing cases in
Michigan as well as Missouri. “It’s an
extremely intolerant and almost puritanical approach and more and more
prevalent in secular universities,” he said.
Cash wants to be re-admitted to the program so he can finish
his studies and obtain his degree. That’s
the least the university can do for a man who has been targeted and bullied
because of his Christian faith.
It’s unfortunate that we live in a nation where one’s faith
in Christ is now considered a career-killer.
As we approach the general elections in November, Christians had better
be looking at candidates who have proven the defense of religious liberty. American Christians are just that close to
losing religious freedom.
Rev. Dr.
Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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