CBN News - Judge: Christian Credits Can Be Denied

 By Mark Martin  CBN News Reporter  August 15, 2008

CBNNews.com - A federal judge ruled last week that a public university can deny course credit to students from Christian high schools.

U.S. district judge James Otero ruled in favor of the University of California, Friday, saying it could withhold course credit from Christian high school applicants if their textbooks say the Bible is infallible and teach against evolution, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Otero held that the university's review committees were not discriminating, and that they offered sound reasons for rejecting the books, not because they have religious perspectives, but because they left out topics in science and history and did not teach critical thinking.

Opponents want the ruling overturned, warning that the decision could hurt Christian education around the country.

Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice Jay Sekulow says the ruling is troubling and amounts to discrimination.

"That decision in and of itself should cause a shockwave for Christian education across the country, because the idea that a public university, paid for by the taxpayers whose kids are at that Christian school, and now it's off limits? It's a very dangerous precedent," he said.

Sekulow added that the ACLJ plans to fight the ruling, it could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I think people need to understand that this decision significantly undercuts the ability of Christian schools to produce students that could go on to public universities, and that's very dangerous," he said.