Ward v. Wilbanks

I am going to indulge in a little less hyperbole in discussing the ruling in Ward v. Wilbanks than many other Christian conservatives have been. Most are missing the point, but not by much.

Federal District Judge George Steeh, whom I must note for the purpose of forcing Project Savior’s panties in a wad is a Bill Clinton appointee, dismissed a lawsuit filed by Julea Ward against Eastern Michigan University claiming religious discrimination. Ward was denied entry into the school counseling program because she would refuse to counsel homosexuals. In order to be licensed school counselor, Ward would not be allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation regardless of her personal belies.

Eastern Michigan University was well within its rights to deny her admission since she does not fit the requirement for professional licensing. Consider that most of the other graduates of the program are probably at least marginally Christian, there is no religious discrimination in this case. The university just is not going to waste time and resources on a student who refuses to accept professional responsibility from the get go.

I do not believe this amounts to the thought police instituting a No Christians Allowed policy. Ward herself would be allowed to believe homosexuality is a sin all she wished as long as she did not refuse to counsel homosexuals based o her belief. Unfortunately, that is what she opted to do in violation of the professional ethics of her chosen vocation.

This does encourage a certain “don’t ask, don’t tell” atmosphere about one’s religious beliefs in academic settings, but from personal experience, that has been the case for a long time, particularly if a Christian is in a science or philosophy class.

Truth be told, this is the right decision. What really gets me is Ward herself. Why is she pursuing a degree in which she will have to work in a secular environment when she is obviously adamant about pushing her sectarian beliefs?

I have a unique perspective on this, too. I have an undergraduate degree from the secular University of South Carolina and a law degree from Christian Regent University. The studet body of the latter was about a third graduates of Christian schools who had never and would never dare set foot inside a secular school. Once they discovered you had done so, you were not considered to be a real Christian until you offered up compelling evidence you never chanted from Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species while participating in ritualistic homosexual orgies I the name of Satan. You know, the kind of stuff that goes on at secular universities all the time.

Ward sounds like the type who would think that sort of thing. She would probably be better served getting a school counseling degree from somewhere like Regent university where she can network to find a Christian school to employ her which will better suit her sensibilities. The homosexuals are much deeper in the closet at Christian schools--until they get caught molesting boys. Regardless, Ward’s conscience would be clearer in such a place.

So why is she raising such a ruckus over not getting a career that would put her in an uncomfortable position, anyway?