For over 60 years, Christian Legal Society student chapters and other religious student organizations have frequently
encountered problems in becoming—or remaining—recognized student organizations.
Christian Legal Society
(CLS) has provided legal defense for student ministries that face wrongful punishment or prohibition at their schools, whether that be in an
elementary school or on a college campus.
On behalf of the FCA students in San Jose—whose
story I just shared with you—CLS filed a complaint in federal court against the San Jose Unified School District and certain individual school
officials, which resulted in a lengthy legal battle.
Four years after the school district revoked recognition
of the Fellowship of Christian Athlete student groups, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of FCA, finding
that the district violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Brave students, like those in San Jose, endure attacks on their faith from fellow students and
the teachers who should be encouraging freedom of thought. Please help us to encourage Christian students to stay strong in the face of
adversity!
While I wish this were an isolated incident, it is instead
a pattern of attacks on Christian students and student groups across America.
That is why Christian Legal Society
has been—and continues to be—instrumental in protecting religious freedom.
- We represented three students and a professor
when the University of Idaho issued non-contact orders against them after a CLS student respectfully explained that marriage
between one man and one woman is the only view that the Bible affirms. The federal court’s ruling restored the rights of the students and the
professor to speak in a manner consistent with their religious beliefs.
- We stood with a chapter of faith-based sorority Sigma Alpha Omega (SAO) at the
University of West Georgia when school administrators tried to force them to adopt the school’s nondiscrimination policy, which would have
required them to violate their Christian convictions on sexuality and gender. Because of their biblical stance, SAO students faced exclusion from an
important activities fair at the school, but when CLS attorneys advocated for their right to religious freedom, the administration immediately
relented and fully reinstated them.
- And,
on the federal level, this administration’s Department of Education has fought to rescind regulations that protect religious student
organizations who are being targeted, and we’ve been fighting back by submitting comments explaining why the proposed regulations should not be
approved.
%FIRST%, despite the adversity they face, Christian students across America are standing strong ... and winning the battle
for religious freedom and the Constitution. Please sign our open letter of support right now to show that you stand with them.
