Biden Administration Goes After Campus Religious Groups

Revocation of the Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry rule will make it more difficult for campus religious groups to exercise their religious liberties.

Do religious groups on public campuses have the right to choose leaders who adhere to their beliefs and behavioral tenets? Should religious campus groups at public institutions enjoy the same rights and accommodations that benefit their secular counterparts? Common sense and the U.S. Constitution say yes. The Biden administration says no. The administration wants to strip religious campus groups at public institutions of another protection against campus authorities who unjustly pressure and discriminate against groups whose religious beliefs they disagree with. The Department of Education is planning to revoke the Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry rule, which protects religious student organizations from being hassled by university administrators who object to their beliefs. The rule was adopted by the Trump administration to ensure that public institutions uphold fundamental First Amendment rights guaranteed by the Constitution. According to the rule, public colleges found guilty of denying, strictly because of their faith, religious student groups the same accommodations that other student organizations enjoy would no longer qualify for Education Department grant programs or state programs — but could still access federal financial aid. The administration says that the rule is not necessary to protect First Amendment rights on campuses — it tells those who think their rights have been violated to sue — and says it is “unduly burdensome” for the Education Department and causes confusion for the institutions. As for the first piece — that the rule is unnecessary — many of the 58,000 comments to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the department in February say otherwise — as does recent campus history. Republicans on the House Committee for Education and the Workforce wrote in a comment: “The proposed rollback of these protections lacks any compelling rationale, and sends a dangerous message to students and university administrators that religious liberty is...