Victory For Religious Freedom: Court Reinstates Christian Club

In a landmark decision that bolsters the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA) student clubs must be reinstated in a San Jose public school district. The 9-2 ruling firmly establishes that schools cannot penalize religious student organizations based on their faith.

At the core of the dispute was the school district’s claim that FCA allegedly discriminated against LGBT students by enforcing specific religious criteria for its leadership. However, the Ninth Circuit blasted the school for applying a “discriminatory double standard” against FCA. The court pointed out that the district failed to “treat FCA like comparable secular groups,” which also had their specific criteria for membership and leadership.

The court stated, “It makes equal sense that a religious group be allowed to require that its leaders agree with the group’s most fundamental beliefs.” This stands in logical harmony with the fact that an honors club can set a standard for members to be of “good moral character” or a women’s club can have all-female members. If these secular groups can operate under such premises, why not a religious one?

The San Jose Unified School District expressed disappointment with the ruling, saying they are “reviewing the court’s opinion, assessing options, and considering next steps.” This is an interesting angle, given that the district had gone so far as to shut down all other student groups for Fall 2022 after losing an initial court battle against FCA. That move comes across as petulant and undermines the essence of diversity and inclusion that public schools often champion.

According to the Becket Fund, representing FCA alongside the Christian Legal Society, and Christopher Schweickert of Seto Wood & Schweickert LLP, FCA groups faced harassment and protests “simply because the clubs asked their student leaders to agree with their faith.” This happened while the district allowed other clubs, including one representing the Satanic Temple, to operate freely. So, who is being discriminatory here?

Daniel Blomberg, Becket’s vice president and senior counsel, celebrated the ruling as “a huge win for these brave kids, who persevered through adversity.” He added, “Today’s ruling ensures religious students are again treated fairly in San Jose and throughout California.”

Indeed, this is a win for the FCA or Christian student organizations and any group that upholds values important to its identity. Public schools should be a space for the open exchange of ideas, not a battleground where select viewpoints are marginalized. With this ruling, the Ninth Circuit has put public schools on notice: the Constitution still matters, and religious freedom remains one of its cornerstone principles.

Freedom of religion isn’t just about the freedom to worship but also the freedom to live out one’s faith, even in the public square — or, in this case, the public school.