Legal Issues

Court Limits Campus Ministry

webteam@intervarsity.org — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000

June 28, 2010

Court Limits Campus Ministry

For Immediate Release

(Madison, WI) — ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship will likely be impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. The ruling allows Hastings School of Law in San Francisco, a public institution, to refuse recognition to a campus Christian group which excludes from membership students who refuse to sign a statement of faith and adhere to the tenet that sexual activity should not occur outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Hastings policy states that all campus organizations must be open to all students at all levels.

"Today's decision is disappointing and will likely change the way we operate on some campuses," said ��Ƶ president Alec Hill. "However, whether our chapters are recognized as official student groups or not, we are confident that God will continue to be at work transforming the lives of students and faculty across the country. We plan to continue to minister at both public and private schools. As we have for the past seven decades, we will be responsible campus citizens and pursue Truth prayerfully. We will do so with civility, humility and biblical integrity."

Although ��Ƶ and the Christian Legal Society (CLS) work closely together on a number of law schools, ��Ƶ's structure differs from that of CLS. ��Ƶ chapters do not have members and invite broad participation of students and faculty with diverse views and values. However, chapter leaders are required to assent to our Doctrinal Basis, a position we have defended on a number of campuses.

��Ƶ is an interdenominational ministry working with students and faculty in 860 chapters on U.S. college and university campuses. ��Ƶ is a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, advancing Christian student work in 150 countries.

Some additional thoughts on this court decision by Alec Hill were published online by Christianity Today.

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Today's Supreme Court Ruling

webteam@intervarsity.org — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000

News

June 28, 2010

Gordon Govier

Today's Supreme Court Ruling

A news release detailing ��Ƶ’s reaction to today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, and its anticipated impact on campus ministry will be posted here soon.

At issue, whether a public university law school may deny school funding and other benefits to a religious student organization because the group requires its officers and voting members to agree with its core religious viewpoints. By a 5-4 decision, the justices denied the appeal of the Christian Legal Society and remanded the case back to the Ninth Circuit.

This is an important ruling because ��Ƶ partners with Christian Legal Society in campus ministry on 20 law school campuses across the U.S. In addition, ��Ƶ has staff on 560 U.S. campuses, more than any other Christian ministry.

For background on this story, see Campus Ministry Threatened and Campus Faith Freedom Alert on our website.

UPDATE: Here’s the news release.

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Campus Ministry Threatened

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

News

April 13, 2010

Campus Ministry Threatened

On Monday, April 19, 2010, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that will have a major impact on campus ministry. The case involves the Christian Legal Society (CLS) chapter at the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. CLS is a ministry partner with ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship on many law school campuses across the country.

Clarity Needed
The Supreme Court’s ruling regarding Christian Legal Society v. Martinez will clarify conflicting decisions between two federal circuit courts about whether the U.S. Constitution “allows a state law school to deny recognition to a religious student organization because the group requires its officers and voting members to agree with its core religious viewpoints.” The American Bar Association website indicates that nearly 100 parties have filed briefs in support of the CLS position, including 14 state attorneys general. ��Ƶ joined a brief with 15 other individuals and organizations which have, as the brief states, “encountered resistance, at various public school campuses, to organizational recognition or equal benefits based upon their supposed violation, by insistence upon religious standards, of official non-discrimination policies.”

CLS is represented in this case by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). In recent weeks ADF attorneys have debated this case on several law school campuses across the country. “Christian student groups shouldn’t be forced to deny their faith in order to be treated the same as other student groups,” says ADF senior legal counsel Gregory S. Baylor, a participant at one of the debates. “Just as all student groups have the right to associate with people who share common beliefs and interests, Christian student groups have the right to be Christian student groups. A university policy never trumps rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.”

No Middle Ground
Last month USA Today featured an Opinion column by Portland OR writer Tom Krattenmaker, urging the justices to find a middle ground. Greg Baylor responded on the Academic Freedom File blog that there’s little middle ground to be found. Fred Potter, Executive Director of the Christian Legal Society, sees more than just campus ministry hanging in the balance. “The CLS v Martinez case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to impact materially the future trajectory of First Amendment religious and free speech liberties nationwide.”

The links on this page and on our previous story about the issue provide a large amount of background information to inform your prayers. ��Ƶ president Alec Hill is asking ��Ƶ staff, students, alumni, and friends to be in prayer for the justices, that their ruling in this case would not restrict the constitutional freedoms that allow us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ on U.S. public college campuses.

Coverage of Monday’s hearing: Associated Press || Washington Post || Washington Times
The Torch blog of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education || Christianity Today

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Campus Faith Freedom Alert

webteam@intervarsity.org — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0000

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February 10, 2010

Gordon Govier

Campus Faith Freedom Alert

On April 19, 2010, the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are scheduled to hear arguments in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. ��Ƶ is among a large number of organizations who have filed 34 amicus (friend of the court) briefs in this case. The justices’ decision will have a major impact on campus ministry.

Courts in Conflict

The U.S. Supreme Court often decides to hear an appeal when two different circuits of the federal appeals courts render conflicting opinions. That is what has happened with cases brought by the Christian Legal Society (CLS) in the Seventh Circuit in the midwest and the Ninth Circuit on the west coast. CLS works closely with ��Ƶ on law school campuses across the country. Mike Schutt, CLS’s director of Law Student Ministries, also serves as coordinator of ��Ƶ’s Professional School Ministries to Law Students.

In July of 2006, the Seventh Circuit appellate judges ordered Southern Illinois University (SIU) to reinstate the CLS chapter. SIU officials had claimed that the CLS chapter’s requirement to have its voting members and leaders adhere to basic Christian beliefs violated the university’s nondiscrimination policy. In March of 2009, the Ninth Circuit appellate judges affirmed a federal district court opinion involving the University of California—Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. The district judge had ruled that school officials were permitted to deny recognition to CLS because the chapter requires its officers and voting members to adhere to the CLS Statement of Faith, which is seen as a violation of the religion and sexual orientation portions of the university’s nondiscrimination policy.

A Familiar Issue

The issues in these two cases are identical to the issues that led ��Ƶ to file suit against the University of Wisconsin—Superior in federal court in 2006. ��Ƶ’s right to require that the leaders of our campus chapters affirm the basic Christian doctrines of our Statement of Beliefs is frequently being questioned on a number of other campuses.

“It’s happening a lot more frequently than I expected, given the state of the law,” said ��Ƶ’s legal counsel, Mike Anderson. “Even in the Seventh Circuit, we continue to have to deal with school administrators who are not familiar with the law of this Circuit. These cases are usually resolved quickly and amicably once we remind them of what the law requires, but this resistance still burdens our ability to do ministry.”

Schools in the Ninth Circuit are entitled to design their policies consistent with the law in that Circuit. In fact some ministries, such as Every Nation Campus Ministries at San Diego State University, have already been restricted in their work on campus. With the law in the Seventh Circuit in conflict with the law in the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court has accepted CLS’s petition for certiorari. Oral arguments are expected in April, with a decision possible as early as this summer.

An Experienced Advocate

The lead attorney for CLS is Michael McConnell, who argued the case of Rosenberger v. University of Virginia in 1995. The Rosenberger case found that a state-run university could not withhold financial support from a student publication with a religious perspective when the university funded other student publications. Since 1995 McConnell has served as a Judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and is now director of the Stanford University Constitutional Law Center.

CLS provides a dialogue of questions and answers about the Martinez case on its website. Their brief was filed last week and is posted online.. The ruling in this case will impact every chapter of CLS, every chapter of ��Ƶ, and every other Christian campus ministry. That’s why 17 other organizations and 13 state attorneys general have urged the justices to make a ruling that protects the rights of religious groups to set their own membership and leadership requirements. The ruling will either allow these groups to operate the same as all other campus organizations, or it will allow state colleges and universities to deny recognition to Christian groups on their campuses.

More than 80 organizations and 14 states have filed a total of 22 amicus briefs in support of the Christian Legal Society. Eleven briefs have been filed in support of the other side. One brief supports neither side. You can read the briefs on this American Bar Association web page. Please encourage prayers for the Supreme Court to render a decision that will not limit campus ministry.

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��Ƶ Reaffiliated at Georgetown University

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 08 May 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Press Room

May 8, 2007

��Ƶ Reaffiliated at Georgetown University

News Release
For Immediate Release

(Madison, WI) – ��Ƶ will resume on-campus activities at Georgetown University this fall, as a recognized affiliate of the Office of Campus Ministry. ��Ƶ was among six groups that were disaffiliated nine months ago. “I am very pleased with this news,” said ��Ƶ president Alec Hill. “I give a lot of credit to our staff and student leaders who did not overreact. They were firm but diplomatic in their dealing with university officials. We are grateful for the good spirit of dialog shown by Georgetown as this agreement was worked out.”

Georgetown University has announced the creation of a new Council of Affiliated Protestant Ministries, as recommended by an Advisory Committee on Protestant Ministry. The Advisory Committee was appointed by University vice president Philip Boroughs last fall, when controversy broke out following the sudden disaffiliation of six Protestant ministries, including ��Ƶ.

“It wasn’t theological issues that led to the decision [not to renew affiliations], but rather a lack of communication,” Boroughs said, in a Georgetown University news release announcing his acceptance of the Advisory Committee’s recommendations. Boroughs praised the work of the Advisory Committee. “It is my hope that this new framework, like the collaborative process that recommended its creation, will continue to foster inclusivity and respect for our various theological and liturgical perspectives,” he wrote in a letter to the university community.

The Advisory Committee also recommended creation of a more broadly-based Protestant Student Forum, to replace the current Protestant Student Association. It would include student representatives of all protestant groups that work with Georgetown Campus Ministry. ��Ƶ staff member Kevin Offner, who was a member of the Advisory Committee, reported that ��Ƶ and the other disaffiliated ministries have all been invited back. “We have been invited to return to campus with full privileges,” he said.

Offner is pleased with the new procedures that were recommended by the Advisory Committee, particularly the efforts to improve communication. “Being part of a leadership team together and seeing each other more regularly will be a good thing,” he said. “All of the protestant ministries will now be on the same level. There will no longer be a two-tiered structure.”

He was also pleased that the revised Covenant Agreement that ministries must sign does not restrict ��Ƶ’s witness on the Georgetown University campus. It condemns proselytism, but it’s specific definition of proselytism, as “any effort to influence people in ways that de-personalizes or deprives them of their inherent value as persons, or the use of any coercive techniques or manipulative appeals,” is in contrast with ��Ƶ’s style of ministry.

After the sudden disaffiliation announcement last summer, the ��Ƶ undergraduate and graduate student chapters continued to meet, even though access to campus facilities where they usually gathered was blocked. “For the most part our daily operations were not affected that much,” Offner said. But the ��Ƶ staff and students are glad all uncertainty has now been removed on whether ��Ƶ will be a part of the Georgetown University community.

This is the second successful resolution this year to a challenge against ��Ƶ’s ministry on campus. Last month Federal Judge John Shabaz approved an agreement between ��Ƶ and the University of Wisconsin to resolve ��Ƶ’s lawsuit over the derecognition of the student chapter on the UW-Superior campus. “We believe our vigorous defense of our students’ freedom to worship at the UW-Superior, and at Georgetown, will help protect the rights of students on these campuses in the future, and on other campuses,” said president Alec Hill.

��Ƶ is a Christian ministry working on U.S. college campuses since 1941. ��Ƶ currently oversees 843 student chapters on 573 college and university campuses across the United States.

Background information available online at:
http://www.intervarsity.org/page.php/campusaccess/georgtnintro

For more information:
Gordon Govier
Media Relations
608-443-3688

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University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 06:00:00 +0000

News

December 14, 2006

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

��Ƶ president Alec Hill released the following statement in reaction to recent action by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents:

On Friday, December 8, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents adopted a policy change that directly impacts student organizations such as ��Ƶ. We are thankful that the regents recognized a change was necessary. We hope that their action will allow our chapters at UW-Superior and UW-Madison to be fully recognized soon.

The policy states:

Student organizations that select their members or officers on the basis of commitment to a set of beliefs (e.g. religious or political beliefs) may limit membership, officers positions, or participation in the organization to students who affirm that they support the organization’s goals and agree with its beliefs, so long as no student is excluded from membership, officer positions, or participation on the basis of his or her race, color, creed other than commitment to the beliefs of the organization, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status or parental status, or, unless exempt under Title IX, sex.

This policy is in addition to other requirements for the official recognition of student organizations set forth in UW System or institutional policy documents, except that, to the extent that such UW System or institutional policy documents are inconsistent with this policy statement, they are superseded.

��Ƶ’s federal lawsuit against UW-Superior remains open due to past harm (the de-recognition of the chapter ). This will allow for judicial oversight of the implementation of the new policy. We remain concerned about how the policy will be applied on the campuses of the University of Wisconsin.

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��Ƶ Chapter Restored to Legal Status

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 06:00:00 +0000

Press Room

November 16, 2006

��Ƶ Chapter Restored to Legal Status

News Release
For Immediate Release

(Madison, WI)—Alec Hill, president of ��Ƶ, today announced that ��Ƶ and the University of Wisconsin (UW) have reached a stipulated agreement that at least temporarily restores official recognition to ��Ƶ’s chapter at the UW-Superior.

In October, ��Ƶ sued the UW-Superior and other UW officials to win back recognition rights for its chapter. The chapter had been notified last February that it was being stripped of its official recognition because it required chapter leaders to affirm ��Ƶ’s Basis of Faith. The UW-Superior claimed that requirement violated its non-discrimination policy. ��Ƶ maintains that a student religious organization should be able to require reasonable religious standards for its student leadership.

The stipulated agreement says that ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship at UW Superior (IVCF-UWS) will enjoy all the benefits of recognized status while the case is pending before federal court. Those benefits are:

the right to use the university’s name in its title
the use of the university’s facilities for its activities
the right to campus advertising privileges
the use of the university’s administrative services
the opportunity to apply for student segregated funds

“This is a positive step towards the goal we seek, which is the treatment of ��Ƶ chapters and all Christian student organizations equally with other student organizations,” said Hill. “We are hopeful that this foreshadows a final agreement that restores the rights of ��Ƶ students on the University of Wisconsin campus.”

For more information contact:
Gordon Govier
Media Relations
(608) 443-3688

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Court Limits Campus Ministry

Court Limits Campus Ministry

Today's Supreme Court Ruling

Today's Supreme Court Ruling

Campus Ministry Threatened

Campus Ministry Threatened

Campus Faith Freedom Alert

Campus Faith Freedom Alert

Courts in Conflict

A Familiar Issue

An Experienced Advocate

������Ƶ Reaffiliated at Georgetown University

������Ƶ Reaffiliated at Georgetown University

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

������Ƶ Chapter Restored to Legal Status

������Ƶ Chapter Restored to Legal Status

��Ƶ Reaffiliated at Georgetown University

��Ƶ Reaffiliated at Georgetown University

��Ƶ Chapter Restored to Legal Status

��Ƶ Chapter Restored to Legal Status