Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Here’s the thing secularists either don’t understand or willfully ignore: Christians have the right to worship, believe, and practice the tenets of their faith.
Secularist organizations do not have superior rights over houses of worship or Christian organizations. Courts are starting to remember this and ruling accordingly. Calvary Chapel Belfast in Maine should prevail in court.
The church, a client of Liberty Counsel, won a bid for a property sale to buy the Hutchinson Center, which was owned by the University of Maine System (UMS). The losing bidder, Waldo Community Action Partners (WCAP), somehow convinced UMS to rescind the contract because the church believes what the Bible teaches about marriage and sexuality: marriage is the God-ordained union between one man and one woman, and homosexuality is a sin.
Calvary Chapel Belfast alleged that WCAP conspired with UMS to rig a second bidding process…and won the bid. Incredibly, UMS risked a lawsuit to violate the contract and the church’s First Amendment right to religious freedom.
The church seeks to stop the university system from transferring the property to WCAP. From Liberty Counsel:
“The decision to select WCAP as the purchaser, coupled with the shifting justifications provided throughout the bidding processes, demonstrates UMS’s failure to act neutrally and fairly in its treatment of the Church on the basis of the Church’s religion,” concluded Liberty Counsel.
Despite U.S. Supreme Court decisions protecting the religious rights of individuals and organizations, UMS chose to do the wrong thing.
“Calvary Chapel Belfast participated in the bidding processes in good faith, but the university unlawfully discriminated against the church’s religious beliefs,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “It is a sad day when government officials violate the Constitutional rights of its citizens. This is a costly mistake for the University of Maine System.”
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