Members of the student association at New York’s University at Buffalo voted on Friday to suspend the school’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter after the group’s former treasurer claimed he was forced to resign over his sexual orientation.

The Student Association Senate declined to lift the suspension during a meeting on Sunday, choosing instead to appoint a special investigative committee to determine whether InterVarsity’s leadership requirements violate the school’s policy.

The situation at the University at Buffalo is one of many similar challenges Christian student groups are facing across the country during a year in which the number of colleges accusing religious organizations of discrimination has skyrocketed. In most of the cases, school administrators take issue with groups requiring leaders to agree with doctrinal statements or lifestyle pledges.

In the University at Buffalo case, sophomore Steven Jackson claims members of InterVarsity’s student executive board pressured him to resign his position as treasurer after they found out he was gay. As they have in other cases, InterVarsity’s leaders say the issue is about practice – participating in a sexual relationship outside of marriage – not orientation.

InterVarsity’s lawyers say public colleges, like the University at Buffalo, cannot force a religious organization to elect leaders who do not agree with its beliefs. Every time school administrators have tried, InterVarsity’s attorneys have convinced them to back down, said Jim Lundgren, director of collegiate ministries for InterVarsity.

“We feel like we have pretty good standing here,” he said.

University at Buffalo administrators did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story, but Elizabeth Lidano, director of judicial affairs and student advocacy, told the school newspaper having a faith pledge was discriminatory, even if a group only asked its leaders, not its general members, to sign it.

“There cannot be any type of restrictive membership in a recognized club,” she told The Spectrum.

Lidano’s comments seem to indicate school administrators may be trying to establish an “all-comers” policy, which would prevent all official campus organizations from restricting membership on any grounds, including religious belief.

Read More