Yes, a Christian student group can require its leaders to be Christian. That’s the decision a judge reached last week in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA v. the University of Iowa, a lawsuit the evangelical Christian campus ministry brought against the university and several of its leaders after the school booted InterVarsity and other religiously affiliated student groups for requiring their leaders to share their faiths. Those groups also included Muslims, Sikhs, and Latter-day Saints, according to a statement from InterVarsity.
“We must have leaders who share our faith,” InterVarsity director of external relations Greg Jao said in the written statement. “No group—religious or secular—could survive with leaders who reject its values. We’re grateful the court has stopped the University’s religious discrimination, and we look forward to continuing our ministry on campus for years to come.”
At least three University of Iowa leaders are being held personally accountable to cover the costs of any damages awarded later to InterVarsity, according to US district judge Stephanie M. Rose’s September 27 ruling. The ruling left open the possibility that university president Bruce Harreld still could be found liable, too.
