Court Tells Christian Club Its Mission

Court Tells Christian Club Its Mission Not Harmed by Non-Believing Leaders

By Allie Martin
April 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - An attorney with the American Family Association says a Christian club at a university in California likely will appeal a federal judge's ruling that a state law school can discriminate against the club.

The University of California's Hastings College of the Law, one of the largest law schools in the U.S., is located just off Market Street in the heart of San Francisco. Last week a federal judge ruled that the school can deny funding as well as official recognition to a Christian student club that requires its members and leadership to sign a statement of faith. Hastings claimed that statement violated the school's anti-discrimination policy. The club, in return, argued that the law school had violated its rights of free speech, free exercise, free association, due process, and equal protection.

The club also claimed it could not comply with the school's anti-discrimination policy without abandoning its Christian mission. But U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White did not see it that way, finding instead that the club did "not demonstrate how admitting [as members] [unrepentant and/or practicing] lesbian, gay, bisexual, or non-orthodox Christian students would impair its mission."

Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney with the AFA Center for Law & Policy, says Judge White's ruling was astonishing and troubling.

"The court had said that there was no evidence that the Christian mission of the club would be impaired by the admission of voting members who were practicing homosexuals or members of different faiths," Fahling summarizes -- then offers this observation: "The court took upon itself the role of determining for a particular religion what is important to it in terms of those who subscribe to it or those who are in fact a part of that faith."

In effect, says the attorney, the court said "I know better than you, or two millennia of Christian teaching, about what your faith requires."

According to Fahling, the club permitted anyone to attend meetings and to participate in club events -- but in order to preserve its "distinctly Christian mission and character," felt it necessary to limit membership and leadership roles to professed Christians. But the attorney is concerned that, because of the school's decision -- now bolstered by the court's ruling -- other universities may follow suit and re-evaluate Christian clubs on their campuses.

Fahling expects that other schools -- "certainly in the Ninth Circuit," he says -- will examine the reasoning behind Hastings' move and perhaps apply it to their own funding and recognition of campus Christian clubs.

"And I think the result of this," he continues, "... is that you will find other universities and law schools who are going to say, 'We're not going to fund you because your requirements that people be Christians and live a life in accordance with that before they can become members is a violation of our anti-discrimination policy.'"

Fahling believes it is likely that the Christian club will appeal the decision of the district court. The case is CLS Chapter of University of California, Hastings College of the Law v. Kane.

Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.