Colorado Christian University Gains Backing for Religious Discrimination Case
The Department of Justice argued in favor of Colorado Christian University, which filed suit against the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for discrimination against religious schools and universities.
The Department of Justice argued in favor of Colorado Christian University, which filed suit against the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for discrimination against religious schools and universities.
In a brief filed last month, the Justice Department agreed CCU should be allowed to participate in the state student aid programs on the same terms as other higher education institutions in Colorado.
CCU filed the lawsuit through the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom in December 2004 for CCHE's denial to accept the Christian university's application for a $2,400-per-year state stipend. CCHE’s decision was based on state law as the commission labeled CCU as "pervasively sectarian."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The Lakewood-based University, however, argued that the decision amounted to discrimination, which the Justice Department also recently backed. Their suit alleged that Colorado's exclusion of CCU and its students from state aid programs violates the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
"We filed this lawsuit in order to end religious discrimination in Colorado’s state student aid programs," said Dr. Larry Donnithorne, president of CCU.
"Colorado's religiously discriminatory student aid laws reflect an outdated understanding of 'separation of church and state,'" said Center for Law & Religious Freedom Director Gregory S. Baylor when the lawsuit was made.
The Justice Department’s filed brief mentioned the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that if state money goes directly to students, who use it at the college of their choice, it does not violate the separation of church and state.
"The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held in recent years that the Constitution does not require government to discriminate against religion," Baylor added.
Rick O'Donnell, executive director for CCHE, said he welcomed the Justice Department's opinion.
O'Donnell called the state law "bad public policy,” according to Rocky Mountain News, and said lawmakers could vote to change the law this spring. Otherwise, the case could proceed to trial.
