The College Fix

Judge says ‘religious institutions cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, even if motivated by religion’

A case pitting religious freedom against employment discrimination between Liberty University and a former transgender employee may proceed, a federal judge ruled recently.

U.S. District Judge Norman Moon denied the evangelical Protestant university’s request to dismiss the case last week, saying it presents a “novel question of law” that has not yet been answered, Higher Ed Dive reports.

In his opinion, Moon decided “that religious institutions cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, even if motivated by religion.”

“This case — and the law it implicates — points to the delicate balance between two competing and laudable objectives: eradicating discrimination in employment, on the one hand, and affording religious institutions the freedom to cultivate a workforce that conforms to its doctrinal principles, on the other,” the judge wrote.

Moon wrote that “no source of law … answers the question before us,” but “a decision to the contrary would portend far-reaching and detrimental consequences for our system of civil law and the separation between church and state.”

The judge decided that Title VII allows employers to “discriminate on the basis of religion” but not on the basis of sex.

A former male employee who now claims he is a woman is suing the university for firing him in 2023. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is representing Jonathan Zinski, who now goes by the first name “Ellenor.”

Zinski alleges the Virginia university fired him from an information technology job after he changed his name and began taking transgender drugs, according to the lawsuit.

The case accuses Liberty of employment discrimination. However, the university asserts it was exercising its religious freedom.

Its doctrinal statement describes the “denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender” as a “sinful act prohibited by God,” and all employees are required to sign it.

The university also says there is an “exception to the ‘religion’ component of the employment discrimination laws for religious organizations (including educational institutions) [that] permits them to give employment preference to members of their own religion,” The College Fix reported previously:

In addition, legal experts assert that the Constitution and court precedent safeguard the rights of religious institutions like Liberty to employ only those who adhere to a religious moral code.

“[F]ortunately, the law gives a couple of very strong lines of defense for religious organizations,” senior counsel at First Liberty Institute Senior Counsel Stephanie Taub told Tony Perkins recently, commenting on the case.

“The first one is in the Constitution. And fortunately, we’ve had a couple of very good decisions from the United States Supreme Court that protect religious schools and their right to hire so-called ministers, or people that are responsible for teaching the faith to the next generation as a part of their religious school. And there’s also protections in federal employment discrimination law itself, which gives protections for religious employers to make employment decisions based on religion.”

MORE: ACLU sues Liberty University for firing trans employee

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