Trump Issues Message to Christians Celebrating Pentecost

The White House today posted a Presidential Message on Pentecost, 2025 (Full text). The Message reads in part:

Today, I join in prayer with Christians joyfully celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost—one of the most sacred events of the Christian faith. We commemorate the fulfillment of Jesus Christ’s earthly mission and the birth of His holy and living Church....

As we celebrate this glorious feast day, we also honor all Christians who, like the Apostles, have willingly endured persecution because of their faith.  My Administration will always defend the right of every American to worship God freely and without fear.  For this reason, I created the White House Faith Office and proudly instituted the White House Religious Liberty Commission to safeguard and promote America’s founding principle of religious freedom.  Under my leadership, we are protecting God in the public square and emboldening every believer to live their faith freely, openly, and without threat of persecution....

EEOC Sues Over Denial of Dress Code Religious Accommodation for Apostolic Christian Employee

The EEOC announced this week that it has filed a Title VII lawsuit against CEMEX Construction Materials Florida, LLC, alleging that it failed to grant a religious accommodation to an Apostolic Christian employee.  The employee wanted to wear a skirt over her work pants. According to the EEOC:

The company denied the accommodation because of its policy against loose-fitting clothing. The employee only wore close-fitting skirts over her work pants and was in compliance with company policy. Ultimately, the company forced the employee to choose between wearing a skirt or losing her job. The employee chose to continue wearing a skirt, which led to her termination.

Jury Must Decide Reason for Evangelists' Exclusion from Pride Event

In Cocchini v. City of Franklin, Tennessee, (MD TN, June 3, 2025), in an opinion covering three consolidated cases, a Tennessee federal district court held that because disputed questions of fact remain, the cases must go to trial rather than the court issuing summary judgment for either side.  At issue are claims by five Christian evangelists that they were wrongly removed, asked to leave or denied entrance to the 2023 Franklin Pride Festival in violation of their 1st Amendment free speech rights. Those who entered the Festival particularly spoke with representatives of churches that supported LGBTQ+ rights. The court concluded that plaintiffs were engaged in protected speech that did not constitute "fighting words" and that they were not attempting to make their views part of the Festival's message. The court also concluded that the city park remained a quintessential public forum even though the city had issued it a permit to use the park for the Pride Festival. The court then concluded:

... [T]here is a genuine dispute of fact on the rationale for the City and Officer Spry restricting Plaintiffs’ speech that precludes a finding of summary judgment in any party’s favor.... [A]lthough there is evidence in the record suggesting that the City and Officer Spry restricted Plaintiffs’ speech on account of the Franklin Pride staffers’ disagreement with their religious messages, Defendants present conflicting evidence that they restricted Plaintiffs’ speech based on Franklin Pride’s request that they do so to maintain their use of their permit, prevent Plaintiffs’ disruptive behavior, and enforce Franklin Pride’s ban on distributing outside materials. Any one of these content-neutral reasons for curbing Plaintiffs’ speech ... would satisfy the applicable standard.... Given this critical material dispute of fact in the record, the Court finds that the question of what motivated Plaintiffs’ exclusion from the Park must be decided by a jury.  Accordingly, both Plaintiffs’ and the City’s motions for summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment claims must be denied on this ground.

3rd Circuit: Fireman's Free Exercise and Title VII Challenge to Grooming Rules Should Move Forward

In Smith v. City of Atlantic City, (3d Cir., May 30, 2025), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a New Jersey federal district court's grant of summary judgment for Atlantic City in a suit by a fireman claiming violation of his free exercise rights and his right to reasonable religious accommodation under Title VII. However, the court affirmed dismissal of plaintiff's equal protection and retaliation claims. In the case, plaintiff who is a Christian challenged the city's requirements that prohibit him from growing a beard of any length, contending that the requirement violates his religious beliefs. Finding free exercise and Title VII reasonable accommodation violations, the court said in part:

Firefighters engaged in fire suppression face danger from smoke and fume inhalation. The City protects its firefighters by requiring them to don air masks in “hazardous” and  “confined” spaces.... These “self-contained breathing apparatuses,” or “SCBAs,” form a seal on the firefighter’s face to keep out hazardous air and pump in clean air....

... [T]wo exceptions—one practical exception and one discretionary regime—render the City’s policy not generally applicable. First, the City has long permitted administrative staff, all of whom are firefighters subject to the SCBA rule, to forgo fit testing...

Second, the City’s grooming regime has built-in discretion. Captains may “deviate” from the SCBA policy and permit any sort of conduct as long as they “bear[] full responsibility for the results of any deviation.” ...

Strict scrutiny is the appropriate standard in all free-exercise cases failing either Smith’s neutrality requirement or its general-applicability requirement....

But the City fails narrow tailoring. “[N]arrow tailoring requires the government to show that measures less restrictive of the First Amendment activity could not address its interest.”... The City could remove Smith from fire suppression duty as it did before 2020 or reclassify him as a civilian who is not subject to the SCBA and grooming policies. It could, as a simple fix, at least try and fit test Smith with facial hair to see if his facial hair, at any length, would interfere with the SCBA to a point that creates the risk of air leakage that the City fears. 

Judge Chung dissented in part, saying she would affirm the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's free exercise claim, because "the Grooming Standards are facially neutral and were applied equally to both religiously-motivated and secularly-motivated requests for accommodation...."

Judge Porter dissented in part, saying he would have upheld plaintiff's Title VII retaliation claim.

First Liberty issued a press release announcing the decision.

Evidence of Religious Differences Between Accused and Victim Did Not Require Reversal of Murder Conviction

In State of Washington v. Darraji, (WA App., May 22, 2025), a Washington state appellate court by a 2-1 vote affirmed a second-degree felony murder conviction of defendant, an Iraqi immigrant. Defendant, Yasir, was charged with murdering his former wife, Ibthal.  The court explained:

At trial, the State’s theory was that Ibtihal’s rejection of traditional Iraqi culture and Islamic beliefs, and her embrace of American culture and Christianity, was the source of conflict between the former spouses.  Their fighting and insults escalated until Yasir strangled Ibtihal to death in her car, drove the vehicle to a different location, and lit the car on fire with Ibtihal’s body inside. 

On appeal, Yasir argues that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct by introducing irrelevant and inflammatory evidence of Islamic beliefs to invoke anti-Muslim bias with jurors.

The majority rejected defendant's arguments, saying in part:

The comments and questions by the prosecutor were based on evidence and introduced to show motive.  The State maintained that Yasir believed Ibtihal’s changing behaviors failed to conform to Iraqi culture and Islamic beliefs and were disrespectful, insulting, and reflected poorly on him.... The non-conforming behavior included drinking, smoking, going to bars, dating, driving, working, not covering her hair, and attending a Christian church.  While Yasir’s appeal focuses primarily on evidence of the couples’ religious differences, the State maintained that Ibtihal’s conversion to Christianity and decision to wear her hair uncovered was part of the larger picture....

The foregoing questions and comments were based on relevant evidence and reasonable inferences ... and were introduced to show motive.  An objective observer could not view these questions and comments as an appeal to bias or prejudice against Muslims or persons from Iraq.

Judge Fearing dissented, saying in part:

... [B]ecause of the divisive subject of Islam and stereotypes of Middle Eastern men, the State needed to selectively, thoughtfully, and carefully present its evidence rather than turn the trial into a contest between American culture and Christianity, on the one hand, and Iraqi culture and Islam, on the other hand....  

The State gratuitously painted victim Ibtihal Darraji as Christian and American and defendant Yasir Darraji as Muslim and un-American.  The State even went as far as suggesting Ibtihal was a martyr to Christianity.  With its testimony and arguments to the jury, the State employed the ancient, but common, practice of portraying the victim as “us” and the accused as “them” in order to assure a conviction.  I would reverse and remand for a new trial because Yasir Darraji did not receive a fair trial....    

Religious Broadcasters Win Challenge to FCC Disclosure Requirements

In National Religious Broadcasters v. FCC, (5th Cir., May 19, 2025), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Federal Communications Commission exceeded the authority granted to it by Congress when in 2024 it reinstated the requirement that broadcasters annually file Form 395-B which calls for disclosure of race, ethnicity, and gender data for employees in specified job categories. Co-plaintiff in the case was the American Family Association, a conservative Christian pro-family organization.  Their suit was consolidated with a similar challenge brought by the secular Texas Association of Broadcasters. While the court's opinion does not discuss free exercise rights and avoids adjudicating plaintiffs' free speech arguments, a Press Release by National Religious Broadcasters after the 5th Circuit's decision was handed down focuses on 1st Amendment concerns, saying in part:

NRB has always fought to protect Christian communicators from baseless attempts to restrict their First Amendment liberties which hinder their work of proclaiming the Gospel. This ruling helps ensure that the government cannot create a backdoor to control broadcasters through public intimidation, misuse private data against them, or interfere with the sacred and constitutionally protected mission of religious broadcasters.

Exclusion of Religious Organization from Non-Profit Discount Challenged Under California's Unruh Act

Suit was filed yesterday in a California federal district court by a Christian non-profit claiming that OpenAI's non-profit discount policy that excludes academic, medical, religious, and governmental institutions violates plaintiff's rights under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. The complaint (full text) in Holy Sexuality v. OpenAI, Inc., (SD CA, filed 5/21/2025), alleges in part:

1. Plaintiff Holy Sexuality is a Christian nonprofit based in Texas that uses video courses to teach young people and their families about biblical principles on human sexuality.  

2. To operate more effectively, Holy Sexuality contacted Defendant OpenAI, Inc., a San Francisco-based tech company, to receive OpenAI’s 20% nonprofit discount for a ChatGPT subscription....  

4. But OpenAI and Goodstack denied Holy Sexuality the discount because “religious … institutions are not eligible.” 

5. This categorical denial, OpenAI’s published policy, and Goodstack’s enforcement of that policy are invidious religious discrimination. And they are illegal under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act....

6. People of faith aren’t second-class citizens in California, and tech companies cannot provide lesser services to customers simply because they are religious....

ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

DOJ Sues Idaho City for Denying Zoning Approval for Evangelical Church

The Justice Department announced yesterday that it has filed suit against the City of Troy, Idaho alleging that it violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalize Persons Act when it denied a conditional use permit that would have allowed an evangelical Christian church to hold worship services and church meetings in a building zoned for businesses. The complaint (full text) in United States v. City of Troy, Idaho, (D ID, filed 5/20/2025), alleges in part:

49. At the public hearing, 19 citizens personally appeared to express their views, with one speaking in favor of, one neutral to, and 17 against granting the CUP. 

50. Many of views expressed at the hearing reflected animus against Christ Church’s beliefs or its members, including that the Church was proposing an “evangelical community” that was not “open to everyone.”...

56. The City also received and considered 32 written comments regarding the CUP application that were submitted by residents. Of the written submissions, 26 commenters opposed the CUP and six supported it. 

57. Many of the written comments spoke negatively about Christ Church and its members’ beliefs, practices, and conduct....

The complaint alleges that the City has violated the Equal Terms, the Substantial Burden and the Nondiscrimination provisions of RLUIPA. KMVT News reports on the lawsuit.

Christian Camp Sues Over Gender Identity Requirements

Suit was filed this week in a Colorado federal district court by a Christian children's summer camp challenging state regulations that require the camp to allow transgender children to use restroom, shower, dressing and sleeping facilities that conform to their gender identity. The complaint (full text) in Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je Association v. Roy, (D CO, filed 5/12/2025), alleges in part:

Requiring IdRaHaJe to forfeit its religious status, beliefs, and exercise to maintain an otherwise available license to operate as a children’s resident camp in Colorado triggers strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause....

 ... [T]he Department engaged in impermissible religious hostility by refusing to grant a religious exemption to IdRaHaJe while granting exemptions from regulations for secular reasons and despite clear precedent that prohibits the State from excluding IdRaHaJe from licensing based on its religious character and exercise....

 The gender identity regulations are not neutral or generally applicable because the Department has discretion to create individualized and categorical exceptions, which it has done for certain organizations.

The gender identity regulations also are not neutral and generally applicable because the practical “effect” of those provisions is to exclude only those organizations with religious beliefs and practices like IdRaHaJe’s....

The Equal Protection Clause prohibits the Department from excluding IdRaHaJe from licensing because of its religious status, character, beliefs, and exercise....

ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit. 

DOJ Hosts First Meeting of Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias

 A Department of Justice press release reports that yesterday the DOJ hosted the inaugural meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.  The Task Force was created by an Executive Order of President Trump. Yesterday's press release described the Task Force meeting, saying in part:

The witnesses included:

Michael Farris: First Amendment Litigator and Founding President of Patrick Henry College. Farris spoke on behalf of Senior Pastor Gary Hamrick to discuss how Cornerstone Church was under investigation and charged by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for so-called Johnson Amendment violations....

Dr. Scott Hicks: Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Liberty University. Hicks described how Liberty University and Grand Canyon University were singled out by the Biden Administration for fines due to the schools’ Christian worldview.

Phil Mendes: Navy Seal. Mendes was relieved of duty during Biden Administration for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine due to religious exemption requests that were denied by the Department of Defense.

 “As shown by our victims’ stories today, Biden’s Department of Justice abused and targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Thanks to President Trump, we have ended those abuses, and we will continue to work closely with every member of this Task Force to protect every American’s right to speak and worship freely.”

Additionally, members of the Task Force highlighted specific cases within their own agencies where the Biden Administration unfairly and harshly punished Christian Americans for their religious beliefs.

UPDATE: The DOJ has posted video of opening remarks at the meeting by Attorney General Bam Bondi and  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Christian Foster Care Ministry Can Limit Hiring to Those of Its Own Faith

In Gracehaven, Inc. v. Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services, (SD OH, April 21, 2025), an Oho federal district court issued a preliminary injunction restoring contracting and funding by the county to a Christian ministry that provides foster care services to girls who are victims of sex trafficking and abuse. The county had refused to renew its contract with Gracehaven because of the ministry's policy of hiring only employees that shared its religious faith.  The court said in part:

Gracehaven will likely succeed on the merits of its claim that Montgomery County’s actions violated the Free Exercise Clause because it excluded Gracehaven from an otherwise available public benefit based on Gracehaven’s choice to employ those who share the same faith....

“When otherwise eligible recipients are disqualified from a public benefit ‘solely because of their religious character,’” the Court must apply strict scrutiny to the reason the benefit was denied.

President Issues Holy Week Message, Promising to Defend Christian Faith in Schools and Government Facilities

Yesterday, the White House issued a Presidential Message on Holy Week, 2025 (full text). The President said in part:

During this sacred week, we acknowledge that the glory of Easter Sunday cannot come without the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross.  In His final hours on Earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all His creation.  Through His suffering, we have redemption.  Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins.  Through His Resurrection, we have hope of eternal life.  On Easter morning, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty, and light prevails over darkness—signaling that death does not have the final word.

This Holy Week, my Administration renews its promise to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of government.  We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square.

Arizona Man Convicted of Bomb Threat Hate Crime Against Church

The Department of Justice announced yesterday:

After an 11-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict yesterday against Zimnako Salah, 45, of Phoenix, Arizona, convicting him of strapping a backpack around the toilet of a Christian church in Roseville, California, with the intent to convey a hoax bomb threat and to obstruct the free exercise of religion of the congregants who worshipped there.  The jury’s verdict included a special finding Salah targeted the church because of the religion of the people who worshipped there, making the offense a hate crime....

... [F]rom September to November of 2023, Salah traveled to four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado, wearing black backpacks. At two of those churches, Salah planted those backpacks, placing congregants in fear that they contained bombs. At the other two churches, Salah was confronted by security before he got the chance to plant those backpacks.

While Salah had been making bomb threats by planting backpacks in Christian churches, he had been building a bomb capable of fitting in a backpack....

Salah will be sentenced on July 18. He faces a maximum penalty of 6 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Parents Lack Standing to Challenge School District's Transgender Policy

In Short v. New Jersey Department of Education, (D NJ, March 28, 2025), a New Jersey federal district court dismissed a suit by two parents and a third parent who intervened in the lawsuit who object to the transgender policy of their children's high schools. The policy, adopted by the board of education, calls for high schools to follow students' requests regarding their names and pronouns, without necessarily notifying parents. The court concluded that the policy applied to the schools, not to students or parents, so that plaintiffs lacked standing to obtain a declaratory judgment or injunction against the policy. The Intervenor parent particularly focused on free exercise issues, as set out by the court:

Count One of the intervenor complaint asserts equal-protection violations under the Fourteenth Amendments of the United States and New Jersey Constitutions.... Maldonado alleges that the Cherry Hill policy unnecessarily seeks to prevent discrimination against transgender students at the expense of students’ religious beliefs.... Cherry Hill Defendants cannot provide an exceedingly persuasive justification for unequal treatment of students and parents whose religious beliefs are contrary to the policy’s definition of gender.... 

Counts Two, Three, and Four claim violation of free speech and freedom of religion under the First Amendments of the United States and New Jersey Constitutions.... The policy favors speech based on views and ideas, according to Maldonado, and burdens parents’ and students’ free-speech rights by requiring affirmance of its definition of gender.... The intervenor complaint adds that the policy violates students’ and parents’ freedom to hold sincerely held Christian beliefs premised on a biblical worldview by forcing them to affirm that there are more than two genders or that gender may be based on one’s identity.... The policy seeks to compel affirmation of views repugnant to Christian beliefs and its stated goals may be achieved without forcing parents and students to alter or otherwise abandon their religious beliefs.... The policy does not provide for an excusal or opt-out, stressing one moral interpretation over others, favoring a secular view over a religious one, and discarding other views on gender identity as prohibited, worthy of ridicule, bigoted, or the like.... Count Four alleges failure to accommodate religious beliefs and practices....

The Cherry Hill policy implicates complex, sensitive issues that students will no doubt take from the classroom to the dinner table. Ensuing thoughts and conversations may touch upon family, faith, sexuality, and a host of other important topics. I accept Maldonado’s stated concerns as genuine expressions of her faith and related beliefs. However, without the allegedly offending provisions applying to her or her children, her mere perception of harm is insufficient to confer standing....

EEOC Enjoined from Enforcing Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Against Christian Nonprofit Organization

In Stanley M. Herzog Foundation v. EEOC, (W.D. Mo. Oct 04, 2024), a Missouri federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring the EEOC from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and rules implementing it against plaintiff, a nonprofit Christian educational organization, where enforcement would require plaintiff to accommodate abortions that are contrary to its sincere religious beliefs. The court said in part:

... [T]he EEOC has not established that it used the least restrictive means to advance its interests at this stage. The Final Rule’s approach requires employers to provide accommodations for employees who obtain abortions and permits a religious employer to assert a religious defense only after an employee brings a complaint against it for refusing to provide accommodations. There is no way for a religious employer to ensure it will not face investigation or prosecution ahead of time. The Foundation suggests a number of alternatives the EEOC could have taken, which are less restrictive of its free exercise rights....  The EEOC argues these alternatives are not feasible because the PWFA does not give it authority to predetermine religious exemptions or defenses. Ultimately, the burden is on the EEOC to “prove with evidence” that its policies are the least restrictive means “to achieve its compelling interest, including alternative forms of regulation.”

... [T]he Foundation is likely to succeed on the merits of its RFRA claim.....

The Heartlander reports on the decision.

Oklahoma Indicts Megachurch Pastor on Charges of Lewd Acts With a Minor

The Oklahoma Attorney General has announced that on Wednesday a Multi-County Grand indicted the founder of a Texas Megachurch on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a young girl. (Full text of indictment). The AG's press release (full text) announcing the indictment said in part:

Robert Preston Morris, 63, resigned last summer as senior pastor of Gateway Church. The Southlake, Texas-based megachurch is among the largest in the United States.

In December 1982, Morris was a traveling evangelist visiting in Hominy with the family of the alleged victim, who was 12 at the time. The indictment alleges Morris’ sexual misconduct began that Christmas and continued over the next four years....

The statute of limitations is not applicable in this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time.

NBC News reports on the indictment.

Supreme Court Denies Cert. In Title VII Religioius Discrimination Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied review in Hittle v. City of Stockton, California, (Docket No. 24-427, certiorari denied 3/10/2025). Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Gorsuch, filed an opinion dissenting from the denial of cert. In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's dismissal of a religious discrimination suit under Title VII and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act brought by the city's former Fire Chief.  Among the several reasons given to plaintiff by the city for his dismissal was his attendance at a Christian religious leadership event on city time and with use of a city vehicle, and his approval for three other Department employees to also attend. (See prior posting.) In his dissent, Justice Thomas said in part:

I would have taken this opportunity to revisit McDonnell Douglas and decide whether its burden-shifting framework remains a workable and useful evidentiary tool.

CNN reports on the denial of review.

Trump Issues Ash Wednesday Greetings

Today the White House released an Ash Wednesday Message (full text) from President Trump and the First Lady. The Message reads in part:

This Ash Wednesday, we join in prayer with the tens of millions of American Catholics and other Christians beginning the holy season of Lent—a time of spiritual anticipation of the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ....

As we solemnly contemplate Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the cross this Lent, let us prepare our souls for the coming glory of the Easter miracle.

We offer you our best wishes for a prayerful and enriching Lenten season....

New Study of U.S. Religious Landscape Released

This week, the Pew Research Center released the findings from its 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, a survey of 36,908 U.S. adults. (Full text). (Web version). The 392-page report covers data on the demographics and viewpoints of various Christian and non-Christian religious denominations in the U.S. Of particular interest to readers of Religion Clause may be the Report's section on Religion and Public Life which surveys attitudes on three questions. It reports in part:

Americans are about evenly divided on whether the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation, with 47% either favoring or strongly favoring the idea and 50% either opposing or strongly opposing it.

Among religious groups, this idea is most widely supported by evangelical Protestants, 78% of whom say that they favor or strongly favor the federal government declaring the U.S. a Christian nation....

Interestingly, 16% of respondents who identify with non-Christian religions and 19% of religiously unaffiliated favor this.

The new Religious Landscape Study finds that about half of Americans, or a little more, support allowing teacher-led prayer in public schools, whether that be praying to Jesus explicitly (52%) or, alternatively, praying to God without mentioning any specific religion (57%). Seven-in-ten U.S. Christian adults say they favor permitting teacher-led prayers to Jesus in public schools and 73% say they favor teacher-led prayers to God that don’t mention any specific religion.

Compared with Christians, far lower shares of religiously unaffiliated Americans (28%) and adults who affiliate with other, non-Christian religions (39%) say they favor public school teachers leading classes in prayers that refer to God without mentioning any specific religion. There is even less support among non-Christian groups for allowing public school teachers to lead classes in prayers to Jesus....

 About half of Americans (53%) favor or strongly favor allowing cities and towns to display religious symbols on public property. Support for this stance is particularly strong among Christians, including 80% of evangelical Protestants and 73% of Latter-day Saints who favor or strongly favor allowing public displays of religious symbols.

Much lower shares of Buddhists (39%), Muslims (35%), Hindus (31%) and Jews (25%) say they favor allowing religious displays on public property....

Suit Challenges Software Company's Denial of Discount to Christian Nonprofit

A suit under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act was filed yesterday in a California federal district court by a Christian nonprofit organization that offers a video curriculum designed to instruct teenagers about Christian beliefs on sexuality.  The complaint (full text) in Holy Sexuality v. Asana, Inc., (SD CA, filed 2/18/25), alleges that Asana, Inc. which sells subscriptions for project management software, violated the public accommodation religious discrimination provisions of California law when it denied plaintiff the 50% discount offered to nonprofits. According to the complaint:

To qualify, nonprofits must: have 501(c)(3) status; not be an education or academic institution, hospital, hospital auxiliary, nurse register, mutual organization, or credit union; and not “advocate, support, or practice discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.”...

But, under its Religious Discrimination Policy, Asana denies that discount to “[r]eligious organizations that exist to solely propagate a belief in a specific faith.”...

Asana’s religious discrimination was and remains arbitrary, especially because Asana grants discounts to nonprofits who hold views opposite to Holy Sexuality’s and grants discounts to other religious nonprofits.

ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.