The University of Iowa (UI) is caught
up in a legal fight with a conservative Christian student group that denied a
leadership position to a homosexual student.
The case pits a university policy barring discrimination based on sexual
orientation against the religious beliefs of a 10-member group called Business Leaders
in Christ (BLC).
BLC sued after the state’s flagship
university in Iowa City revoked its campus registration in November 2017. The group says its membership is open to
everyone, but that its leaders must affirm a statement of faith that rejects
homosexuality. The university says it respects
the right of students, faculty and staff to practice the religion of their
choice but does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.
BLC, founded in the spring of 2015 by
students at UI’s Tippie College of Business, met weekly for Bible study, to
conduct service projects and to mentor students on “how to continually keep Christ
first in the fast-paced business world.”
The group’s loss of registration as an on-campus student organization
means it can no longer reserve campus meeting space, participate in student
recruitment fairs, access funds from student activity fees or use university-wide
communication services.
A student member of BLC, Marcus
Miller, filed a complaint with the university last February 2017 after the
group denied his request to serve as its vice president. Miller’s request was rejected after he
disclosed he was gay.
BLC says it denied Miller’s request
because he rejected its religious beliefs and would not follow them. Group leaders must affirm a statement of faith
that affirms that they “embrace, not reject, their God-given sex” and support
the idea that marriage can be only between a man and a woman. “Every other sexual relationship beyond this
is outside of God’s design and is not in keeping with God’s original plan for
humanity,” the statement of faith says.
BLC’s lawsuit, filed in federal court
in Davenport, says it “cannot and will not ask leaders who do not share its
beliefs to lead members in prayer or to convey those beliefs.” “Every organization to exist has to be able
to select leaders who embrace its mission,” says BLC’s attorney, Eric Baxter
with the non-profit law firm Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “You would never ask an environmental group
to have a climate denier as their leader. It’s the same thing here,” says Baxter.
Judge Stephanie M. Rose has set a
hearing for a request from BLC to reinstate its on-campus privileges in time to
participate in spring recruitment fairs (January 24-25) … something the group says
is “crucial to its existence.”
UI said it has a right and obligation
to ensure an open and non-discriminatory environment on campus. UI spokeswoman Jeneane Beck said that
on-campus groups must guarantee “that equal opportunity and equal access to
membership, programming, facilities, and benefits shall be open to all persons.” But the UI also acknowledged that the court “must
carefully weigh the compelling interest of religious freedom on the one hand
and the compelling interest of preventing discrimination on the other hand.”
Given that religious liberty is a
‘civil right’ constitutional protected, and sexual orientation is merely a
preference (not an innate characteristic), the decision should be easy. BLC must be reinstated on the UI campus!
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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