DOJ Defends Christian School in Court

Religious Freedom,

Last week the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in a court case over a Christian school in Maryland.

In 2018 the Maryland State Department of Education denied a scholarship to students at Bethel Christian Academy and demanded that the Christian school repay the state $102,600 it had previously received in scholarship funding — all because the school believes marriage ought to be the union of one man to one woman and “that God immutably bestows gender upon each person at birth as male or female to reflect His image.”

The state accused the school of discrimination simply because it holds a biblical view of marriage and biological sex.

The school filed a federal lawsuit against the state as a result.

On Tuesday the DOJ filed a Statement of Interest in the case as well, explaining that the Maryland State Department of Education discriminated against Bethel Christian Academy.

While the case is far from over, it’s good to see the federal government standing up for religious liberty and protecting schools like Bethel Christian Academy from state censorship.

You can read more about the school’s lawsuit here.

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Federal Officials Move to Protect Faith-Based Adoption Agencies

Adoption, Religious Freedom, , ,

Last week the federal Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new rule that lets adoption and foster care agencies operate according to their religious beliefs.

The proposal helps roll back Obama-era attempts to force Christian adoption and foster care agencies to place children with same-sex couples despite the agencies’ deeply-held religious convictions regarding marriage and family.

Our friends at Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen writes,

While these developments are extremely positive, the impact may be a bit limited. Lori Windham of the Becket Law Firm, explains:

“HHS just proposed a regulation that will allow faith-based adoption and foster care providers to serve their communities consistent with their religious beliefs. That’s a smart thing to do, but it would only fix part of the problem. … Unfortunately, state and local governments use similar rules to try and shut down faith-based agencies. Faith-based agencies therefore still need help from SCOTUS.”

State rules have already forced some Christian adoption agencies to choose between obeying their faith and obeying the government.

In Michigan, for example, St. Vincent Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services both have found themselves at odds with government policies over the placement of adoptive and foster children.

At World magazine, Jamie Dean writes,

“[E]arlier this year, the Christian groups faced a government ultimatum: accept applications from same-sex couples for foster care and foster care adoption or lose the legal right to conduct foster care in Michigan. The Catholic group refused. Bethany complied. “

Since then, Dean writes, St. Vincent has challenged the government policies and won a preliminary injunction in their favor in September.

A similar case is playing in Philadelphia where city officials have targeted faith-based adoption and foster care agencies.

In February Arkansas state Senator Alan Clark (R – Lonsdale) filed S.B. 352. The bill was intended to protect faith-based adoption and foster care services in Arkansas, but it ultimately was referred for study and discussion during the interim between now and 2021.

All of this underscores that while a federal rule change is good, religious liberty must be protected at the state level as well.

You can read more about the federal government’s proposed rule change here.

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