University of South Carolina Removes Ban on Student Activity Funds to Religious Student Organizations
As a result of a suit Center and Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed in federal court last February, the University of South Carolina no longer denies student activities fees to religious student groups.
"It has been well established for over a decade that the exclusion of religious student organizations from a forum for student activity fee funding violates the First Amendment," said Casey Mattox, Litigation Counsel at the CLS Center. "To the University's credit, they realized the problem and requested that we work with them to ensure policy changes that treated religious and non-religious student groups equally."
The memorandum of understanding reached in CLS v. Sorenson can be viewed here. Under the agreement, the University will adopt new rules concerning funding of student organizations consistent with the recommendations of Center attorneys. A moratorium on any funding of student organizations will remain in place until the new rules are finalized.
Center Challenges Iowa's Exclusion of Faith-Based Charities from Employee Charitable Campaign
Center attorney Casey Mattox presented oral argument before a district court in Iowa last Monday in Association of Faith-Based Organizations v. Anderson, a suit challenging rules excluding religious charitable organizations from receiving voluntary donations from state employees as part of the Iowa One Gift campaign. "We are hopeful that the state officials will take this opportunity to correct this blatantly unconstitutional treatment of religious charities, making further litigation unnecessary," Mattox explained.
"Faith-based charitable organizations should not be discriminated against because of their beliefs. No legal reason exists for Iowa to prevent state employees from voluntarily giving their own money to religious charitable organizations," said Mattox. "Religious charities providing critical social services should not be denied equal treatment in this program simply because these charities also practice their religious beliefs and hire persons who share them."
The rules challenged in the lawsuit exclude any charitable organization that "engages in any way in sectarian activities," advocates "religious viewpoints," or "discriminates" on the basis of religion in employment.
Center and Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have successfully represented AFBO in similar lawsuits in Florida and Wisconsin. We ask for your continued prayer for a just outcome in this case. Click here for more information.
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The Center for Law & Religious Freedom is the advocacy ministry of the Christian Legal Society, which is the professional association founded in 1961 of Christian attorneys, judges, law professors, law students, and friends throughout the United States.
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