This week in Christian history: Fuller Seminary wins case; Charles Spurgeon preaches to over 23,000 after Sepoy Rebellion
Court sides with Fuller Theological Seminary over discrimination claim – Oct. 7, 2020
This week marks the anniversary of when a court sided with Fuller Theological Seminary in a legal battle to determine if the Christian school could expel students who have engaged in extramarital activity or entered a same-sex marriage and still receive federal funding.
Two former Fuller students who had been expelled for being in same-sex marriages had filed suit against the Pasadena, California-based seminary, claiming that its standards violated Title IX Civil Rights law.
However, United States District Judge Consuelo Marshall granted Fuller’s motion to dismiss the suit, ruling that the Christian school had met the standards for a religious exemption to Title IX.
“Here, although the text of the Religious Organization Exemption may be read to require the ‘religious organization’ and ‘educational institution’ to be two separate entities, the ordinary meaning of the term ‘organization’ is sufficiently broad to include [Fuller’s] board of directors,” wrote Marshall.
“[T]he Title IX claim seeks to hold FTS liable for expelling Plaintiffs for entering same-sex marriages, which are contrary to the school’s religious tenets. Thus, the Religious Organization Exemption applies.”
While the ex-students appealed the decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit would uphold the district court ruling in a unanimous decision in December 2021.
