The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that a Christian University can be denied accreditation because of its opposition to homosexuality.
In a ruling released Wednesday, a three judge panel of the high court concluded that Trinity Western University’s “community covenant,” which bans a host of behaviors, discriminates against LGBT people and that the Law Society of Upper Canada was justified in denying accreditation.
“TWU wants to establish a law school. Although members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (‘LGBTQ’) community may apply to the proposed law school, they will not be admitted unless they are willing to sign and adhere to TWU’s community covenant,” read the ruling.
“The consequence is that LGBTQ students are discriminated against in terms of admission to, and life at, TWU.”
An evangelical Christian university, Trinity Western’s law school has been granted accreditation by several provincial law societies and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.
However, three provincial societies, the Law Society of Upper Canada, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, and the Law Society of British Columbia, denied them accreditation.
At specific issue is the university’s community covenant, which requires students and faculty to “voluntarily abstain” from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.”
“The university’s mission, core values, curriculum and community life are formed by a firm commitment to the person and work of Jesus Christ as declared in the Bible,” reads the covenant.
“The community covenant is a solemn pledge in which members place themselves under obligations on the part of the institution to its members, the members to the institution, and the members to one another.” christianpost.com
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