(lively music)
- [Narrator] As Pilgrims who fled religious persecution
took on the monumental task of building a new world
for their children and grandchildren,
one of their top priorities
was to educate the next generation
and prepare them to play their part
in the unfolding drama that came to be known
as the United States of America.
Schools like Harvard, Yale,
Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth,
were all founded with an explicitly Christian mission.
Like their English forerunners at Cambridge and Oxford,
these schools set out to train pastors, clergyman,
and others in public life
with a thoroughly biblical worldview.
That American tradition has continued.
Today,
there are nearly 1,000 religiously affiliated colleges
and universities from sea to shining sea.
They range from nationally recognized powerhouses
like Baylor, Notre Dame, and Brigham Young,
to small liberal arts colleges and upstart seminaries.
Wherever these schools are found,
they're marked by the countless outreach programs
and service hours they offer to local communities.
Whether serving veterans, feeding the homeless,
or volunteering to help underprivileged youth,
the faith of these religious colleges and their students
inspires them to serve those in need.
Yet, if the current movement to purge society
of Judeo-Christian values has its way,
hundreds of thousands of students and their families
will be cut off from the chance
to attend a private religious university,
and this great American tradition
will become a relic of the past.
Why?
Because in early 2021,
an activist group known as REAP,
the so-called Religious Exemption Accountability Project,
filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education.
The lawsuit demands that the government block students
from using their scholarships, grants,
and other federal funds at religious universities
that hold fast to perennial Christian doctrines
on marriage and sexual morality.
It's not hard to figure out REAP's intentions.
After all, the self-proclaimed mission
of REAP's parent organization is to, quote,
"Sabotage Christian supremacy."
It's equally clear that REAP understands Christian supremacy
to be the beliefs held in common
by all Abrahamic faiths for millennia.
Believes that marriage is a lifelong union
of one man and one woman.
That sex should be reserved for marriage.
And that differences between the sexes are created by God,
permanent and meaningful.
REAP's lawsuit is part of a broader effort
that targets all private religious universities
and their students for punishment.
Like their Christian counterparts,
Orthodox Jewish universities
like Yeshiva University in New York city
are being hauled into court over the very same beliefs.
REAP's lawsuit not only seeks to prevent students
from receiving federal financial aid
if they attend a school
that aligns with their religious beliefs,
it also claims that legal protections for religion
are unconstitutional in general.
That flies in the face
of the First Amendment's free exercise clause
and would force people of every faith
to fall in line with government mandated orthodoxy
on key matters of faith and practice
or suffer severe penalties.
Make no mistake,
REAP wants to radically transform our country.
They aim to turn a nation founded as a refuge
for those seeking to practice their faith freely
into a nation that is openly hostile to people of faith.
Unfortunately, the so-called Equality Act,
which passed in the house of representatives,
carry similar threats and much more.
It is sweeping legislation
that would harm not only religious institutions,
but also women and girls in athletics,
dorms, and private changing areas.
The government can't discriminate against Americans
based on religion.
That's guaranteed by the First Amendment.
And it's what the US Supreme Court highlighted
in its recent decision
unanimously upholding religious exercise
in Fulton vs the city of Philadelphia.
Chief Justice John Roberts, wrote,
"Government fails to act neutrally
when it proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs
or restricts practices because of their religious nature."
REAP's lawsuit invites the court to do just that,
to actively participate in bigotry
against religious schools and their students.
Thankfully, religious colleges
and universities aren't backing down.
With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom,
three schools, Corban University, William Jessup University,
and Phoenix Seminary are asking the court
to allow them to defend their God-given Liberty
as parties in the case,
America is big enough for religious schools
and public schools to co-exist.
Generations of America's finest students
have attended religious colleges and universities.
These institutions have been part of our nation's fabric
since its founding.
All these schools ask
is for the right to operate consistently with their beliefs,
the very beliefs that inspire everything they do.
That shouldn't be too much to ask.
Find out more about this case at www.ADFLegal.org.
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