California legislators could soon wipe out the social and cultural exemptions afforded to state religious schools that they depend upon for their identity.

Senate Bill 1146, now moving through committee in the Assembly, “aims to include all colleges and universities receiving state financial assistance together with students receiving state financial aid under the authority of the Equity in Higher Education Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex,” as Christianity Today noted. “The bill, authored by state Senator Ricardo Lara, was passed by the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee with an 8-2 vote and is now with the Committee on the Judiciary.”

Instant controversy

Intentionally or not, Lara poked a hornet’s nest. “The bill has created a storm of controversy in the Legislature,” the Los Angeles Times observed. “It was approved by a sharply divided state Senate last month,” with critics charging that its language was overbroad, vague and out of sync with the First Amendment’s protections on freedom of association and religious practice. “The bill would limit conscience protections to only those schools that prepare students for ministry, teach theology or prepare students for other pastoral careers,” charged Matt Cover at OpportunityLives. “If a school tried to maintain its religious identity, it could be faced with crippling lawsuits, forcing schools to make the choice between shutting down or eliminating their religious nature, depriving their students the opportunity of an education that incorporates their religious views alongside academic learning.”

Lara, D-Bell Gardens, seemed somewhat taken aback by the firestorm. The state senator “said it is not his intent to interfere with what is taught in the classroom or requirements that students attend chapel twice a week, and that he is willing to consider changes in his bill to address some concerns,” according to the Times, although he added “he is adamant that religious universities should be subject to some of the anti-discrimination laws that apply to public colleges.”

Stark choices

In-state religious leaders responded with furor — partly because of how close to the state the bill would draw faith-based schools, and partly because of how far away they would be pushed if they tried not to comply. “The bill effectively eliminates the religious exemption under current law that allows Christian colleges and universities to operate in accordance with their beliefs, including the freedom to hire only Christian faculty and staff,” wrote Kurt Krueger, president of Concordia University Irvine. “If passed without amendments, the new law would also very likely disqualify students attending California Christian colleges and universities from eligibility for Cal Grants, a key state-level student aid program.”

Lara’s bill and its implications also quickly resonated nationwide. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association president Rev. Franklin Graham tore into the proposal on Facebook, portraying it as the spear tip of a nationwide “anti-Christian movement.” 

“Now the California state Legislature wants to force Christian Universities like Biola University to conform to secular standards,” he wrote. “In effect, we would no longer have Christian universities in this state — and unfortunately this secularism is like an evil plague that spreads.”

Following federal cues

Biola has become something of a symbol of the legal front in the culture war around faith and sexual politics. “[I]n response to signals from the federal government that transgender K-12 students should be protected under anti-discrimination laws,” EdSource recalled, “Biola decided to apply for a religious exemption that would give the university the right to expel transgender students and refuse to admit, house or accommodate them, without jeopardizing federal funding.” Under current law, California affords “a blanket exemption to the anti-discrimination provisions of the Equity in Higher Education Act to all colleges that are ‘controlled by a religious organization,'” as the site added. SB1146 would take away that exemption, prohibiting any form of restriction on “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in admissions, housing and campus activities.”

The U.S. Supreme Court did Cal State Christian students a favor by turning down their lawsuit to get school money. This was sparked by Cal State’s “refusal to provide funding and other campus  benefits to student groups that exclude members of other religions,” according to the Chronicle, which continued:

“CSU denies official recognition and funding to student organizations that  discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin and sexual  orientation.

“The Christian groups at San Diego State argued that the policy itself was  discriminatory for two reasons: The ban on gender-based admissions doesn’t apply  to sororities and fraternities, and secular organizations are allowed to make  viewpoint-based distinctions – an immigrants’-rights group, for example, can  exclude opponents of immigrants’ rights and still receive funding.

“‘The university did not tell the Democratic club it must be led by a  Republican, or the vegetarian club it must be led by a meat-eater, but it did  tell Christian groups that they must allow themselves to be led by atheists,’  David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund, a lawyer for the religious groups,  said Monday.

“As a result of the court ruling, he said, ‘the supposed marketplace of ideas  at San Diego State University will remain a stronghold for censorship.'”

Book of Acts

I suggest that these young Christians re-read the Book of Acts. The Apostles and their followers never applied to Caesar for a grant of the Roman taxpayers’ money.

By losing this case, two good things have happened: First, the kids are going to learn how to organize on their own and raise money voluntarily, not grabbing it from taxpayers.

Second, the Christian youngsters have gotten a good lesson on the way Church-State relations are going to be for them the rest of their lives. Ever since the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire 1,700 years ago, Christians have debated whether they should work to control governments, which resulted in what was called Christendom — or disdain governments, including those in majority Christian countries.

It’s an old debate with reasonable arguments to both sides. It’s also not pertinent to today’s politics. Likely for the lives of anyone reading this, including the college kids, the U.S. and most other governments are going to be hostile to Christianity. Better get used to it.

The Catholic bishops in America long have received tax money for their hospitals and other charities. But they recently were shocked to learn that President Obama was forcing them, under his ObamaCare scheme, to offer medical insurance that included coverage of contraception and abortions. Did Obama promise he wouldn’t do it? Caesar lied. What about the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion? Caesar isn’t James Madison.

Then there’s Jesus saying, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”

Let Caesar have Cal State and the rest of the anti-Christian college systems, and K-12 school systems as well. Start your own clubs, your own colleges, your own K-12 schools.

Kids, you’re going to have to. So you might as well start now. It will be the only way to survive Caesar’s persecutions.

March 20, 2012