The US Supreme Court has ruled against the Christian Legal Society in their case against the UC Hastings Law School regarding requirements for membership and leadership positions. The campus group welcomes anyone to attend, but requires voting members to sign a statement of faith and commit to Christian standards of conduct. They had argued that the rules established by Hastings could be interpreted in such a way as to force them to allow a non-Christian to become a Bible study leader.
Although the particular focus of the complaint that Hastings had against the group was on their statement about sexual morality, specifically homosexuality, today’s court ruling is much broader than that. It may be interpreted to mean that any requirement to commit to a statement of faith or Christian conduct is discriminatory and not to be allowed by a campus group. Even establishing such requirements only for leaders may come under attack.
If campus Christian groups are forced to give up their Christian identity in order to be registered as official campus organizations it would force them to operate off campus. We need to keep watch on this issue, and pray for continued open doors for campus ministry.