Tennessee Legislators Push Bill to Protect Religious Campus Groups

April 1, 2012

State lawmakers in Tennessee are considering a bill that would protect faith-based organizations on state college campuses from nondiscrimination policies that many say actually discriminate against the groups themselves, the Christian Post reports. A state Senate committee last week unanimously approved SB 3597, which would prevent colleges from denying religious groups official campus recognition on the basis of their religious speech and give such organizations the freedom to operate within their "particular religious mission" in selecting members and student leaders. The bill comes at a time when several faith-based groups at Vanderbilt University are clashing with administrators over the university's nondiscrimination policy -- which could force Christian organizations to allow non-Christians as members or leaders if the groups want to be officially recognized by the school.