{"id":15530,"date":"2016-08-16T22:49:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-16T22:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/california-religious-colleges-dodge-a-bullet-but-whats-next-15415\/"},"modified":"2016-08-16T22:49:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-16T22:49:00","slug":"california-religious-colleges-dodge-a-bullet-but-whats-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/california-religious-colleges-dodge-a-bullet-but-whats-next\/","title":{"rendered":"California religious colleges dodge a bullet. But what’s next?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Sacramento, Calif., Aug 16, 2016 \/ 04:49 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A bill that threatened to defund California religious colleges that do not accept same-sex marriage and gender ideology has been amended, but the danger could return.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe schools dodged an enormous bullet,\u201d Gregory S. Baylor, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA Aug. 16. \u201cThe provisions that were dropped would have made it very difficult for them. They would have been forced to choose between remaining faithful to their religious beliefs about a variety of issues and participating in the CalGrant program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baylor\u2019s religious freedom legal group helped defend some of the California schools targeted by California legislature bill S.B. 1146.<\/p>\n

A previous version of the bill would have imposed strict anti-discrimination rules on state-backed student grants, called CalGrants, to schools that disagree with same-sex marriage and gender ideology. Schools would have had to decline to accept students with the grants, change their morality- and religion-based policies, or face the risk of lawsuits.<\/p>\n

Critics of the original bill said that it would stigmatize and punish religious colleges and universities and deny their disadvantaged students\u2019 needed funds for their education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most dangerous provision of S.B. 1146 were dropped,\u201d Baylor said. \u201cCertainly the schools we have been working with are happy about that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But he also had a warning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be a mistake for anyone who supports religious freedom to be lulled into a false sense of security about what\u2019s coming in California,\u201d he added. \u201cThe prior version of the bill passed the senate, and passed three committees in the assembly, and appeared to be destined for passage in the full assembly and signature by the governor. That is a frightening prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s prime sponsor has promised to continue considering the question and could introduce legislation in the next legislative session that will have the same goals as the original version of the bill, Baylor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupporters of religious liberty, schools, and parents need to be prepared for the conflict that almost certainly is coming, and the virtually existential threat that this poses to their religious liberty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The bill still requires religious institutions of higher education to disclose their requested federal religious exemptions in a prominent location, as well as in written materials sent to prospective students, at student orientation programs, and to new hires.<\/p>\n

The institutions must also disclose this exemption to the California Student Aid Commission, echoing a new U.S. Department of Education requirement. The state commission must publish a list of schools that disclose exemptions. The institutions must report a detailed explanation of the reasons for each student suspension or expulsion to the commission, and whether the action concerned a policy protected by the exemption.<\/p>\n

Baylor said the schools have some concern about these disclosure and reporting requirements. For instance, they must also follow federal requirements to protect the privacy of educational records, which appears to be in tension with the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, there is a legitimate concern that these provisions single out religious schools and impose special obligations upon them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Baylor, the schools question whether the provisions are necessary given that the institutions are willing to discuss their religious commitments and expectations of students and staff.<\/p>\n

In an Aug. 9 statement written in response to the previous version of the bill, a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders defended the importance of the freedom of religious higher education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of a free America requires the full participation of religion in public life. Religious higher education cultivates both the mind and the soul,\u201d they said. They characterized the proposed restrictions as \u201cstigmatizing and coercively punishing religious beliefs that disagree on contested matters related to human sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before its amendment, they said the bill would have severely restricted \u201cthe ability of religious education institutions to set expectations of belief and conduct that align with the institution\u2019s religious tenets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaders from two Catholic colleges in California, St. Thomas Aquinas College and St. John Paul the Great University, signed the statement, as did Michael Wear, a former Obama campaign staffer who served in the White House\u2019s Office of Faith-based Initiatives.<\/p>\n

Some commentators warned that the bill\u2019s earlier provisions would make it impossible for disadvantaged students to attend religious colleges and could endanger the institutions\u2019 financial sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Sacramento, Calif., Aug 16, 2016 \/ 04:49 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- A bill that threatened to defund California religious colleges that do not accept same-sex marriage and gender ideology has been amended, but the danger could return.<\/p>\n

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