Justice Sotomayor Protects Religious Rights in Yeshiva University Case vs. LGBTQ Activists

The Supreme Court has blocked a court order that would have forced America's flagship Jewish university to violate its religious beliefs by recognizing an LGBTQ group as an official campus club.

Yeshiva University is America's oldest Jewish institution of higher education. Students attending the school go there to immerse themselves in Jewish culture, study the Torah, learn Hebrew, and receive an education influenced by the Modern Orthodox tradition. 

In 2019, a small group of students wanted to gain recognition for an LGBTQ advocacy group under the name Gay-Straight Alliance, but the university denied their attempt. In 2020, the group changed its name to YU Pride Alliance, removing LGBTQ, hoping to get approval from the school. 

According to Becket Law, although the school made changes to better support LGBTQ students, the school cited it could not recognize such a group because of its religious values as an institution.

"The Torah guides everything we do at Yeshiva—from how we educate students to how we run our dining halls to how we organize our campus," Yeshiva University President Ari Berman said in a press release.

Last year, three former students and a current student sued and demanded the state of New York force the school to recognize an undergraduate LGBTQ advocacy club.

According to court filings, the students recognized Yeshiva as a deeply religious institution but claimed they sought club recognition for "religious reasons." 

New York County Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students saying the school was not a "religious corporation" under city law and not protected by the U.S. Constitution. The Court ordered Yeshiva to "immediately" approve the club.

"This is obviously wrong," a university spokesperson told The Commentator. "As our name indicates, Yeshiva was founded specifically to impart Torah values to its students through providing an outstanding education, allowing them to robustly live out their faith as noble citizens and committed Jews. We love and care for all our students—each one created in God's image…" 

YU Pride Alliance had plans this fall to host school-sponsored LGBTQ events, to prepare school-sponsored LGBTQ-themed Shalach manos ritual packages for the Purim holiday, according to Catholic World Report.

In late August, Becket Law, on behalf of the school, moved quickly to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor responded by issuing a stay in favor of Yeshiva's religious liberty.  

"We are pleased with Justice Sotomayor's ruling which protects our religious liberty and identity as a leading faith-based academic institution," Berman said. "But make no mistake, we will continue to strive to create an environment that welcomes all students, including those of our LGBTQ community."

" We remain committed to engaging in meaningful dialogue with our students, Rabbis, and faculty about how best to ensure an inclusive campus for all students in accordance with our Torah values," he added. 

"Yeshiva shouldn't have been forced to go all the way to the Supreme Court to receive such a commonsense ruling in favor of its First Amendment rights," said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. "We are grateful that Justice Sotomayor stepped in to protect Yeshiva's religious liberty in this case." 

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***