{"id":24602,"date":"2016-07-08T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T10:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=24602"},"modified":"2016-07-08T16:08:09","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T20:08:09","slug":"no-exemptions-for-worship-services-open-to-the-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/07\/no-exemptions-for-worship-services-open-to-the-public\/","title":{"rendered":"No exemptions for church services “open to the public”?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The Iowa Civl Rights Act forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. \u00a0Churches have an exemption for \u201ca bona fide religious purpose.\u201d \u00a0But the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has ruled that if a church\u00a0service \u201cis open to the public,\u201d it is a \u201cpublic accommodation\u201d that\u00a0may not discriminate.<\/p>\n

This would mean a congregation must allow only members to attend worship services, excluding visitors and non-members.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: \u00a0The commission is now clarifying that it didn\u2019t have in mind \u201cworship services,\u201d just services offered by the church, in the sense of child care, food pantries, etc.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From\u00a0<\/span>Iowa Churches Can\u2019t Discriminate During Services \u2018Open to the Public\u2019 | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n

A pair of Iowa churches are challenging a new interpretation of their state\u2019s civil rights act, which prohibits Christians from making gay or transgender people feel unwelcome and from restricting church bathroom use to a person\u2019s biological gender.<\/p>\n

A 2007 amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act<\/a> prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, among other factors.<\/p>\n

Religious institutions are exempt, but only when they are doing something \u201crelated to a bona fide religious purpose.\u201d The language is vague, and no churches have been disciplined for discrimination.<\/p>\n

But the newest explanation<\/a> from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), a law enforcement agency commissioned to end discrimination in Iowa, wrote that \u201ca childcare facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public\u201d would be subject to the regulations.<\/p>\n

On July 4, Fort Des Moines Church of Christ filed a federal lawsuit<\/a> arguing that not exempting church services\u2014all of which are open to the public, they argue\u2014violates the First Amendment. Without full exemption, they fear the state government could censor church teachings. . \u00a0. .<\/p>\n

Longtime First Amendment lawyer David French defended<\/a> the churches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unclear to me how a branch of the Iowa state government has determined that a \u2018church service open to the public\u2019 does not have a \u2018bona fide religious purpose,\u2019 but there it is,\u201d he wrote. \u201cUnder current guidance, churches in Iowa must become \u2018members only\u2019 to exercise their religious liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

From\u00a0<\/span>Iowa Churches Can\u2019t Discriminate During Services \u2018Open to the Public\u2019 | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Iowa Civl Rights Act forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. \u00a0Churches have an exemption for \u201ca bona fide religious purpose.\u201d \u00a0But the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has ruled that if a church\u00a0service \u201cis open to the public,\u201d it is a \u201cpublic accommodation\u201d that\u00a0may not discriminate. This would mean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,19,26],"tags":[4295,477,1870,1871],"class_list":["post-24602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-government","category-law","tag-anti-discrimination-laws","tag-church-and-state","tag-religious-liberty","tag-religious-persecution"],"yoast_head":"\nNo exemptions for church services "open to the public"?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Iowa Civl Rights Act forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. \u00a0Churches have an exemption for "a bona fide\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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