Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) announced on Tuesday that client John Kluge, a former music teacher at Brownsburg High School in Indiana, may take his case to a jury.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the school district must face a jury trial after firing Kluge, a Christian, for refusing to lie about pronouns and for believing what the Bible teaches about sexuality.
The Brownsburg Community School Corporation enacted a “transgender” policy in 2017 that requires teachers to lie and refer to male students by feminine pronouns, and vice versa. Teachers also must use “preferred” names.
ADF said that Kluge asked for and received a religious accommodation to refer to all students by their last names. So why was he fired? Students and teachers who did not appreciate a free-thinking teacher complained. The school reneged on the agreement and fired him.
After a lower court ruled against Kluge, the Seventh Circuit sent the case back for consideration in light of Groff v. DeJoy (2023). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal law bars employers from discriminating against employees for practicing their faith, unless the employer can show that there is no reasonable accommodation without an undue hardship.
But the lower court didn’t care about the high court’s ruling, deciding in the school district’s favor, forcing Kluge back to the Seventh Circuit.
Now Kluge has the opportunity to have a jury try his case. If he wins, the school could face “damages and substantial attorney fees for its religious discrimination.”
David Cortman, ADF senior counsel and vice president of U.S. Litigation, said that federal law requires the government to accommodate religious freedom.
“The Brownsburg school district ignored this right, deciding instead that Mr. Kluge’s religious views couldn’t be tolerated. It revoked his religious accommodation based on the complaints of a few, forcing him to resign or be fired.”
Photo credit: Alliance Defending Freedom
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