FIX EXCLUSIVES
Lawyers say Calvin University has freedom to employ professors who ‘uphold and model its beliefs’
A Michigan appeals court recently sided with Calvin University in a lawsuit filed by former Professor Joseph Kuilema, who was terminated after officiating a same-sex wedding.
However, both parties expressed hope for their argument’s success as the court battle continues.
Calvin is a private, Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan that believes marriage is between one man and one woman and asks its employees to uphold these beliefs, according to its lawyers at Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. It is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.
“The appeals court agreed with Calvin that Kuilema’s main claim had no legal basis and dismissed it entirely,” Daniel Chen, counsel at Becket, told The College Fix regarding the July ruling.
“What remains for the trial court to adjudicate is a much narrower claim that does not change the fact that the central issue was decided in Calvin’s favor,” he said in a recent email.
Chen also offered a simpler explanation of the court’s decision, stating: “The court essentially said that Kuilema’s main argument doesn’t hold up legally. All that remains for the trial court to consider is a secondary claim that Calvin also denies playing any role in Kuilema’s non-reappointment.”
Lawyers with Becket have argued that Calvin should have the freedom to employ professors who “uphold and model its beliefs,” and the courts should not be involved in religious organization’s decisions on “matters of governance, faith, and doctrine.”
However, Kuilema (pictured) also expressed hope for his anti-discrimination case in a recent email to The Fix.
“In the 1983 case Bob Jones vs. United States, the court decided that invoking God wasn’t enough to justify discrimination on the basis of race, declaring that ‘not all burdens on religion are unconstitutional,’” he said.
“My sense is that we will eventually come to the same conclusion regarding discrimination on the basis of sex or gender identity. I hope I live to see it,” Kuilema said.
MORE: Calvin University professor sues after being fired for officiating same-sex wedding
In The Fix’s initial coverage of the case in 2023, Kuilema shared his justification for officiating a same-sex ceremony in October 2021, citing the Christian Reformed Church’s lack of clear guidance or official position on the matter.
The an evangelical Protestant denomination clarified its stance on the issue in 2022, stating that “homosexual sex” is immoral.
But Kuilema also said that the university’s faculty handbook in the summer of 2021 “had no definition of marriage, and no guidance about conducting civil ceremonies as a private citizen.”
He now teaches at Grand Valley State University. According to his faculty bio, he used to work at a summer camp “focused on racial justice,” and his research interests include “global social work, social work history, racism and white supremacy, and the intersections between faith and LGBTQ rights in society and social work education.”
When asked about the case, Reformed Protestant and pro-life lobbyist Titus Folks explained to The Fix the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s perspective, a sister denomination to the Christian Reformed Church.
“Instead of flattening our ideological differences, we should all want religious institutions like Calvin University to boldly exist as representatives of their own tradition,” Folks told The Fix.
“My fear, and the fear of many protestant Christians is that the historic institutions we built have been partially or completely secularized. It is good to see Calvin University taking a stand for Biblical sexual ethics,” he said.
Folks said he believes that Christian colleges must uphold their faith, not just legally but also morally.
Many students expect a true Christian environment but find faculty who don’t follow orthodox beliefs; this lets down students, parents, donors, and staff, he said. Faculty should fully follow their college’s faith statements and denominational teachings, Folks told The Fix.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: The Calvin University campus behind a photo of former Professor Joseph Kuilema; Calvin University/Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Joseph Kuilema
