DES MOINES (AP) — The University of Iowa is caught up in a legal fight with a conservative Christian student group that denied a leadership position to a student who is gay.
The case pits a university policy barring discrimination based on sexual orientation against the religious beliefs of a 10-member group called Business Leaders in Christ. The group sued after the state’s flagship university in Iowa City revoked its campus registration in November.
The group says its membership is open to everyone but its leaders must affirm a statement of faith that rejects homosexuality. The university says it respects the right of students, faculty and staff to practice the religion of their choice but does not tolerate discrimination.
The group’s loss of registration as an on-campus student organization means it can no longer reserve campus meeting space, participate in student recruitment fairs, access funds from student activity fees or use universitywide communication services.
A student member of Business Leaders in Christ, Marcus Miller, filed a complaint with the university in February after the group denied his request to serve as its vice president. Miller’s request was rejected after he disclosed that he is gay.
The group says it denied Miller’s request because he rejected its religious beliefs and would not follow them. Group leaders must affirm a statement of faith affirming that they “embrace, not reject, their God-given sex” and support the idea that marriage can be only between a man and a woman.
The group’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Davenport, says it “cannot and will not ask leaders who do not share its beliefs to lead members in prayer or to convey those beliefs.”
A judge has set a hearing for Thursday on the group’s request to reinstate its on-campus privileges in time to participate in recruitment fairs next week.
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