California State University at San Bernardino: Refusal to Recognize Christian Group

Case Materials

• "E-mails from CSUSB President Albert Karnig to a FIRE Supporter," January 5, 2006
• "Cal State San Bernardino Spikes Christian Student Group," FIRE Press Release, December 19, 2005: California State University at San Bernardino (CSUSB) has refused to recognize a Christian student organization for requiring its members to live according to the group’s religious faith. The Christian Student Association at CSUSB contacted FIRE for help after the university said that the group’s statements on faith and sexual morality were “not permissible.”
• "Memo from CSU-San Bernardino Administrator Christine Hansen to the Christian Student Association," October 3, 2005
• "Constitution of the Christian Student Association at California State University at San Bernardino," September 15, 2005

Blog Entries

• "Cal State vs. the Constitution," Robert Shibley, January 5, 2006
• "The War on Christians (and Muslims)," Robert Shibley, December 27, 2005
• "Cal State’s Spineless Defense," Charles Mitchell, December 20, 2005

Media Coverage

• "California Tells Christian Club it Must Admit Non-Christians and Homosexuals," Brendan Steinhauser, Townhall.com, January 2, 2006: The effect of this law is that it would prevent a Catholic student organization from denying membership to a Southern Baptist. It would prevent a Muslim student association from denying membership to a Hindu. What, then, would be the point of joining a religious organization?
• "FIRE: California School Curtails Christian Students' First Amendment Rights," Jim Brown, Agape Press, December 27, 2005: However, FIRE's legal director, Greg Lukianoff, calls the university's argument absurd. "If you do not share the core beliefs of the group, you do not have the right to join it," he asserts. "Freedom of association means nothing if you don't have the right to exclude people who don't agree with you on the fundamental reason why you associate in the first place."
• "Campus Left to Christians, Conservatives: Shut Up!," Mark Tapscott, Townhall.com, December 24, 2005: Take California State University at San Bernadino, for example, where administrators refuse to charter the Christian Students Association because the group thinks its members should be professing Christians. Imagine that!
• "Christian group denied Cal State charter," Duane Gang, The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.), December 20, 2005: The November decision to bar the group from operating on campus caught the attention of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit foundation advocating freedom of speech and religion on college campuses. “Our hope is that the university will come to its senses through open debate and dialogue,” said Greg Lukianoff, the foundation’s director of legal and public advocacy.
• "CSUSB group drawing notice," Brad Greenberg, San Bernardino County Sun, December 20, 2005: Ryan Sorba says officials at Cal State San Bernardino are discriminating against Christians by withholding resources from his student group, which prohibits non-Christians and homosexuals from becoming members.
• "California State University 2, Christianity 0," Nathan Burchfiel, Cybercast News Service, December 20, 2005: Greg Lukianoff, the director of legal and public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), said the CSA had “the right to ensure that their members share their central beliefs.” FIRE, a legal group that defends free speech on college campuses, is urging Cal State to recognize the group.
• "SoCal university denies charter to Christian group," Associated Press, December 20, 2005: California State University, San Bernardino has refused to allow a Christian group to organize on campus, saying it would discriminate against non-Christians and homosexuals.
• "University rejects Christian student group," WorldNetDaily, December 20, 2005: Lukianoff argues the Constitution ensures “Muslim groups are free to be Muslim, Buddhist groups are free to be Buddhist, and Christian groups are free to be Christian, even if the principles they express run counter to the official viewpoints or unconstitutional policies of state universities.”
• "Rights threats come from all directions," Jay Ambrose, Scripps Howard News Service, December 20, 2005: The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education recently reported on its Web site how California State University at San Bernardino “refused to recognize a Christian student organization for requiring its members to live according to the group’s religious faith.” Think about that for a minute.