This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, featured a positive court ruling for a student group at a Michigan university, which had faced banishment because of its policy that chapter leaders be Christian. Also, access to a Canadian church has been blocked due to its stand against COVID-19 restrictions. And, Franklin Graham had bus ads removed prior to his speaking in the U.K. 2-1/2 years ago, and recently, a court said that should not have occurred.
Federal court rules in favor of campus group at Michigan university
The chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Wayne State University in Michigan, as a Christian organization, did not allow those who were not Christians to serve in leadership. For that, it was removed from the campus.
Recently, as CBN.com reports, a Federal court affirmed that was wrong. The website stated:
"Student groups were permitted to restrict leadership based on sex, gender identity, political partisanship, ideology, creed, ethnicity, and even GPA and physical attractiveness," the court said about the university located in Detroit, Michigan. However, religious groups were not allowed to require that leaders share any of a group's religious beliefs, and at Wayne State, it was a "small group of Christians, who were denied student organization benefits because they require their Christian leaders to be...Christian."
The article points out that:
In 2018, Becket sued Wayne State on InterVarsity's behalf, since the group had been excluded. The university relented and let InterVarsity back onto its campus but argued that it still had the right to remove the group later. Monday's ruling safeguards InterVarsity and sends a clear message that accommodation, not discrimination, is the best policy.
Canadian church entry blocked
COVID-19 restrictions and religious freedom have sometimes been in conflict during this time of the pandemic. Faithwire reported recently on the ongoing saga of a church in Edmonton, Alberta, Grace Life Church, which experienced the imprisonment of its pastor James Coates, and, stunningly, the barricading of its church property.
The article said that:
John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the law firm representing the church, released a statement Wednesday afternoon, rebuking the government not only for placing a barrier around the church but also for seeking to delay its trial against Coates.
Faithwire also reported:
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed to CBC News officers were on the scene at GraceLife Church on Wednesday morning to assist the Alberta Health Services in closing the church.
AHS said in its own statement that it “physically closed” the place of worship and will work to prevent access to the church until it “can demonstrate the ability to comply with Alberta’s chief medical officer of health’s restrictions.”
Tweets included within the article indicated that fencing had been placed at the property. The Edmonton Journal reported Sunday morning that "hundreds of supporters" were present "outside the property." An adjoining road was reportedly closed. An update of that article said that church members were not part of those gathered at the site - it was reported that they were meeting underground. There was also video circulating yesterday about 200 armed police at the church, but I was unable to confirm that video.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its fifth ruling against COVID-19 restrictions in California; the Alliance Defending Freedom website reported that Tandon v. Newsom ended "California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 order that limits religious gatherings to three households inside of personal residences while allowing more than three households to gather in other comparable venues..." ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman is quoted as saying, "With this fifth rejection of California’s COVID-19 restrictions on religious exercise, the Supreme Court has made abundantly clear that the government has a duty to respect the First Amendment in this context and many others. As the court explained, the government can’t single out religious activities for harsher treatment than non-religious ones..."
Franklin Graham Festival ads on UK busses were OK, according to court ruling
In the aftermath of the Franklin Graham Festival of Hope in the United Kingdom in Lancashire in 2018, a recent court ruling shows that local officials erred in disallowing certain type of promotion of these events. Religion News reports that:
The ads, which were briefly placed on public buses prior to Graham’s 2018 Lancashire Festival of Hope, were taken down after LGBTQ groups mounted a social media campaign that convinced the Blackpool Borough Council that Graham’s beliefs opposing same-sex marriage were offensive.
The article goes on to say:
In her ruling, Manchester County Court Judge Claire Evans said the borough council’s actions “discriminated on the ground of religion” and showed “wholesale disregard for the right to freedom of expression.”
“We thank God for this ruling because it is a win for every Christian in the UK,” Graham said in response.
The 3-day Blackpool event drew 9,000 people in September of 2018.
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