Suppressing religious free speech

The California State university system has derecognized InterVarsity, a Christian organization, on its 23 campuses.

HuffPo:

California State University, which has 23 campuses, is “de-recognizing” local chapters of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical Christian group with 860 chapters in the United States. The university system says InterVarsity’s leadership policy conflicts with its state-mandated nondiscrimination policy requiring membership and leadership in all official student groups be open to all.

and later

The challenges stem from a 2010 Supreme Court decision that ruled a public college can refuse to recognize a religious student organization with an “all-comers” policy if its religious beliefs are effectively discriminatory.

Why the California system could not imitate the approach taken by Ohio State is curious. (The Cal State system has found a way to protect fraternities and sororities). Again, HuffPo:

Some campuses have reached an agreement with InterVarsity that permit chapters to remain on individual campuses. Ohio State University rewrote its student organization registration guidelines to read, “A student organization formed to foster or affirm the sincerely held religious beliefs of its members may adopt eligibility criteria for its Student Officers that are consistent with those beliefs.”

InterVarsity is being driven underground, where they will continue to meet and evangelize and pray, but without access to Cal State resources. They are not alone: Vanderbilt and Bowdoin are among the institutions that have pushed faith-based organizations away from campus under the pretext of requiring nondiscrimination.

It is unfortunate that the system could not find a more expansive way to draw this religious organization into conversation befitting a university. One wonders what this move means for its understanding of the civilizing task of university life.