Feb
01
2012
Court Sides With Counseling Student Who Was Expelled for Her Christian Views
The Story: A federal appeals court recently ruled that a counseling student who declined to advise a homosexual client might have been expelled from her university because of her faith. The court found that, "a reasonable jury could conclude that Ward's professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith."
The Background: Julea Ward was enrolled in Eastern Michigan University's graduate counseling program when she was assigned a client who sought counseling on a same-sex relationship. Because her faith as an evangelical Christian precluded her from condoning the relationship, Ward asked to have the client referred to another counselor.
According to Jeremy Tedesco, the civil rights lawyer who represented Ward: "Consistent with the American Counseling Association's (ACA) code of ethics (which twice authorizes client referrals) and what EMU taught Ward about referrals (e.g., highlighting a study finding that forty percent of professional counselors have referred clients due to values conflicts over sexual practices) the professor told her to have the client reassigned. This reassignment occurred before Julea had even met the client."
EMU charged Ward with violating two provisions of the ACA Code and sent her through a disciplinary process. As Tedsco says, "EMU professors offered Julea a 'remediation' program aimed at changing her 'belief system' took Julea on a self-styled 'theological bout in which her understanding and interpretation of biblical scripture was attacked, and questioned Julea about whether she viewed her "brand of Christianity as superior" to other Christians."
EMU then expelled Ward from the counseling program.
A lower court upheld the expulsion but the Sixth Circuit reversed the district court's decision.
Why It Matters: As Tedsco notes:
In the end, the court struck at the very heart of what Julea's lawsuit is all about: that the First Amendment prohibits public universities from demanding that students change or violate their beliefs as a condition to getting a degree. As the court said: "A university cannot compel a student to alter or violate her belief systems . . . as the price for obtaining a degree."
The Sixth Circuit is right, "Tolerance is a two-way street." A fact that is often lost on public universities when it comes to Christian expression and belief, as Julea's case so clearly shows.
[Note: If you find a story our community should know about, please send the link to joe.carter *at* thegospelcoalition.org.]