Religious Liberty Up for Grabs
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in what some say is one of the most important religious liberty cases before the high court in the past decade.
In 2004, the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law refused to recognize the Christian Legal Society as a student group on campus because it requires that its officers and voting members subscribe to its Christian beliefs. In the ongoing legal tiff that began in October of that year, the lower courts have agreed with the school that CLS violates its non-discrimination policy, and that anyone — including atheists — should be allowed to hold positions of leadership in the Hastings Christian Fellowship.
In December 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Greg Baylor, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says a lot is riding on the final decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.
“What’s at stake is the freedom of religious student groups to operate on campus — to be student religious groups,” Baylor states. “What Hastings College of the Law is trying to do is to force the Christian Legal Society to deny its faith in order to get the same benefits that other student groups on campus have.”
ADF, says the attorney, will play a significant role in arguing the case before the Supreme Court. “It’s our view that the Constitution trumps a college policy that forces groups to accept into the membership and leadership of the organization people who reject their message,” he explains.
The case is scheduled for argument before the high court on April 19. Numerous groups have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of CLS.
(Source: OneNewsNow)
