CONTACT:     STEVEN H. ADEN, 703-642-1070, x 3504
  GREGORY S. BAYLOR, 703-642-1070, x 3502

CENTER FOR LAW AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS RIGHT OF OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS

University Agrees to Grant Religious Groups an Exemption from their “Nondiscrimination” Policy

COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio State University agreed on Friday that it could not require the Christian Legal Society (CLS) chapter at its Michael E. Moritz College of Law and other campus religious groups to abide by the University’s so-called “Nondiscrimination Policy.”  The policy would have forced the CLS chapter, and other campus religious groups, to accept members and officers who reject their Christian beliefs.

CLS' Center for Law and Religious Freedom and local attorney Thomas W. Condit filed suit in March against the University after it threatened to revoke the CLS chapter’s status as an OSU-recognized student organization.  OSU moved to de-recognize the CLS chapter and strip it of its privileges as an approved club - including access to meeting rooms, bulletin boards and student organization funding - after an allegation of discrimination was filed with the University by another student group.  The complaint of discrimination alleged that the chapter violated the University's non-discrimination policy because it required its members and officers to profess faith in Jesus Christ and to exhibit a lifestyle consistent with orthodox Christian doctrine, including a prohibition on practicing homosexuality.

Center attorneys offered to settle the dispute with the University in the fall of 2003 if the school would agree that the “religion” and “sexual orientation” portions of its “Nondiscrimination Policy” would not apply to religious student clubs with respect to their selection of members and officers.  The school declined to respond and the Center sued last March.  After almost a year of negotiations and litigation, university officials announced last week they have rewritten their policy to allow religious student groups to adopt nondiscrimination language in their organizational constitutions that is consistent with their sincerely held religious beliefs.  

The Ohio State University policy received intense public scrutiny as a result of the efforts of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (“FIRE”), which had urged the university to change its policy on behalf of a broad interfaith coalition of Muslim and Christian student organizations.  The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund provided financial support to the Center for Law & Religious Freedom for its work on the case.

“CLS and many other OSU student religious organizations are thankful that the University has decided to respect their First Amendment right to maintain their religious identity by having members and leaders that share their deeply held beliefs,” said Center Chief Litigation Counsel Steven H. Aden.  “OSU’s new common-sense policy recognizes that there is absolutely nothing wrong with students coming together around shared religious commitments,” said Center Director Gregory S. Baylor.”