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July 14, 1995, Leadership U.: The
New York Times on June 30, 1995 carried a front page story about the recent
Supreme Court's ruling in Rosenberger v. University of Virginia. The
Court ruled that UVA was wrong when it refused to fund a Christian Student
newspaper, although it funded other newspapers. Such a ruling is significant,
because it may lead to greater freedom for Christian academicians to stand
openly for Christ on campus.
The misinterpretation and misapplication of the separation of church
and state has been used for decades in an attempt to hinder any attempt
to restore a spiritual dimension to our nation's universities. As a result,
Christians within the university frequently found themselves criticized by
colleagues, denied promotion and tenure, and subjected to personal and
professional discrimination.
The Court's ruling may lead to a more balanced view of spiritual activities
within the university, and provide these committed professors with greater
opportunities to bring the Gospel to their students and colleagues.
In addition, this ruling is significant for several other reasons:
(1) It goes a long way to explaining the so-called separation of church
and state. Many Americans, including people in
administrative positions on
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campuses, believe that it is illegal to benefit religious groups in any way
because of the so-called separation. This ruling makes it clear
that this is not the case.
(2) This makes it clear that for universities to treat religious groups any
different than other groups would be a violation of their Constitutional rights.
For example, occasionally religious groups have trouble getting meeting space in
Residence Halls. Many student hall governments are hesitant to allow these groups
space because they believe it will violate some law. This ruling helps make it
clearer that not to allow them the same use of meeting room space is almost certainly
a violation of the law.
(3) On almost every campus campus, every student is assessed some form of
student fees. It may be as little as $5 or as much as $100 a
semester (or more), but this money is what student government then allocates
to the different student groups who make requests. Frequently religious groups
get little or no money for their various programs, despite their varied applications.
The irony is that on most campuses the religious groups, in particular the most
amount of money in student fees and typically get the smallest return from
student government. This ruling makes it clear that failing to fund religious
groups is a violation of these groups Constitutional rights.
Lets hope the Christian student groups can creatively take advantage of this
opportunity.
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