The University of Iowa has backed down on its planned ban of religious student organizations.
The victory isn't permanent because the case is still in court.
The dispute erupted over the school's "nondiscrimination" policy requiring that student organizations allow their leaders to hold beliefs that may conflict with the organization's.
For example, the policy would require that a Christian organization such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship open its leadership posts to atheists, Muslims or Buddhists. Likewise, student organizations holding those beliefs would be banned from requiring their leaders to share them.
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The Becket Fund filed a lawsuit, and only a week later, the University of Iowa agreed to reinstate InterVarsity and dozens of other student groups that had been kicked off campus.
Becket said InterVarsity obtained an agreement to temporarily reinstate all deregistered religious groups until the the lawsuit is resolved.
Other student groups in the suit are the Sikh Awareness Club, the Chinese Student Christian Fellowship, the Imam Mahdi Organization and the Latter-day Saint Student Association.
Even though InterVarsity had been part of the fabric of campus life for decades, open to all students, the university in June ordered "the group to drop its religious leadership standards within two weeks."
It insisted that members of the Christian organization "could not even 'strongly encourage' its leaders to embrace its faith."
Other groups were faced with the same dilemma.
University officials eventually purged the campus of faith groups.
"But just one week after InterVarsity sued over the mass purge, and just hours after the group warned it would need to file a motion for a temporary restraining order in order to participate in important student organization activities, the university reversed course to allow all religious groups back on campus," Becket said.
"This win is a win for everyone – Christians, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs alike," said Daniel Blomberg, senior counsel at Becket.
"Everyone loses when state officials pick who leads students in prayer and worship, and everyone wins when religious students can make those decisions for themselves. Here’s hoping the courts make the university’s temporary patch into a permanent fix."
InterVarsity, as a Christian group, holds Bible studies and worship services along with a wide range of other activities.
Becket said the school's crackdown, however, did not include sports clubs, fraternities and political organization, which still were allowed to set requirements for their leaders.
"As we all prepare to head back to school, we're excited to know InterVarsity will also be back on campus and part of the community we love," said Katrina Schrock, student president of InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship.
"These last few months have been crazy, but we're grateful to be able to get back to focusing on meeting and serving the new graduate and professional students in our Hawkeye community."
Becket said its lawsuit is against the university, President Bruce Harreld, Student Life Vice President Melissa Shivers and other officials, including William Nelson, Andrew Kutcher and Thomas Baker.
It is challenging the "unconstitutional and unlawful discrimination by the University of Iowa ... against plaintiff Intervarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship."
WND reported last month on a case Becket filed against Wayne State in Michigan over the same issue.
Michigan Gov. Richard Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette have been dismissed as defendants in the lawsuit by InterVarsity after they agreed that the state university is discriminating against a Christian group on campus and that Michigan universities "must respect the rights of religious student groups to choose their own leaders."
The university later allowed InterVarsity to return, but the legal case continues over the policy.
Becket said the announcement "comes as a blow" to Detroit-based Wayne State, which claims InterVarsity cannot restrict its leadership to students who adhere to its foundational beliefs, even though the university gives that liberty to more than 90 other student groups.
"This is a great day for religious freedom and free speech in Michigan," said Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket. "Gov. Snyder and Attorney General Schuette have recognized that state universities can't discriminate against religious student groups. We hope Wayne State will take notice."
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