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Camp IdRaHaJe is taking the state to federal court after being told it must open girls’ showers and cabins to biological males — or risk being shut down if camp officials refuse.
A Christian youth camp in Colorado has filed a federal lawsuit against state officials, alleging that newly imposed gender identity policies violate its constitutional rights to religious freedom and free speech.
Camp IdRaHaJe, a ministry operating in Bailey, Colorado, since the 1940s, serves more than 2,500 children each summer through Christian-based programs and outdoor activities. The camp’s name is derived from the phrase, “I’d Rather Have Jesus.” Now, it finds itself at the center of a legal battle over the state’s licensing requirements for residential youth camps.
The lawsuit, Camp IdRaHaJe Association v. Roy, was filed on May 10 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Named defendants include Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, and Carin Rosas, director of the Office of Early Childhood Licensing and Administration.
At issue is a Colorado regulation requiring licensed youth camps to allow campers to access bathrooms, showers, and sleeping quarters based on gender identity rather than biological sex. Camp IdRaHaJe argues that complying with the policy would force it to violate its sincerely held religious beliefs about human sexuality and gender.
The camp, represented by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), argues that the policy infringes on its rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Colorado Constitution.
“Camp IdRaHaJe is a religious ministry. Its mission is to win souls to Jesus Christ through the spreading of the Gospel,” the complaint states. “Because of its religious beliefs, the camp cannot allow biological males into female showers or sleeping quarters, and vice versa.”
According to the suit, the camp requested a religious exemption from the policy but was denied. That denial now threatens the camp’s license and its ability to continue ministering to young people.
ADF Legal Counsel Andrea Dill emphasized the broader implications of the case, explaining,
“The government has no place telling religious summer camps that it’s ‘lights out’ for upholding their religious beliefs about human sexuality. Camp IdRaHaJe exists to present the truth of the Gospel to children who are building character and lifelong memories. But the Colorado government is putting its dangerous agenda—that is losing popularity across the globe—ahead of its kids. We are urging the court to allow IdRaHaJe to operate as it has for over 75 years: as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for its beliefs.”
The camp argues that the state’s mandate not only violates its religious freedom but also compels speech and behavior that directly contradicts Scripture.
According to the complaint, Camp IdRaHaJe has met every other licensing requirement for decades and has consistently received praise from families for its safe, faith-centered environment. Its programs include various activities — from backpacking and team-building exercises to chapel services — designed to reinforce Christian values.
The camp’s legal team is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions to block the state from enforcing the gender identity requirements against it. They are also requesting declaratory relief affirming that the policy, as applied to the camp, is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit emphasizes that the camp serves boys and girls in separate programs, often with gender-specific cabins, showers, and facilities to preserve privacy and reinforce its religious teachings about male and female identities and distinctions.
The case has been assigned to Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter and could become a defining legal moment in defining the boundaries between religious freedom and public accommodation laws in Colorado. State officials have yet to comment publicly on the pending litigation.
The lawsuit highlights growing tensions nationwide between anti-discrimination laws related to gender identity and the rights of religious organizations to operate in line with their convictions. Colorado has been at the center of multiple cases involving similar legal battles.
In 2024, Colorado school district Jefferson County Public Schools compelled students to share cabins and showers with peers of the opposite biological sex during an outdoor camp, without prior parental notification or consent.
In another case involving the same district, during a school-sponsored trip, a fifth-grade girl was assigned to share a hotel room and bed with a male student who identified as female. The girl discovered the student’s biological sex only after the trip had started, leading to distress and a call to her parents. Subsequent arrangements were made, but the school allegedly instructed the girl to conceal the reason for the room change from other girls.
Additional allegations included instances where a female chaperone, identifying as male, supervised middle school boys during overnight stays and shower times. Parents claim they were not informed about these arrangements, which they argue infringe upon their children’s privacy rights.
The lawsuit filed by Camp IdRaHaJe is not just a defense of religious liberty; it is a warning to all Americans who still believe in the Constitution and in protecting children.
Colorado’s attempt to force this Christian camp to allow boys into girls’ showers, sleeping quarters, and bathrooms based on self-identified gender is an unconscionable violation of religious freedom, parental rights, and basic common sense.
For more than 75 years, Camp IdRaHaJe has served thousands of children by teaching biblical values in a safe and wholesome environment rooted in Christian faith. Now, that legacy is under attack by bureaucrats pushing a radical ideology that prioritizes political correctness over constitutional rights and child safety.
It is deeply troubling that the same state that allowed a school district to house fifth-grade girls with biological males on an overnight trip without parental consent and has recently made it a crime to “misgender” or “deadname someone” now wants to impose those same policies on private religious camps.
Where is the accountability? Where is the respect for privacy and parental authority?
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, not just within church walls but in every sphere of life, including camps like IdRaHaJe. The state’s denial of a religious exemption is not only unconstitutional but also marks an assault on the very idea that religious institutions should be allowed to operate in line with their faith.
If this wrongheaded policy is allowed to stand, it will send a frightening message to ministries throughout the state — and beyond — that they must conform or be shut down.
That’s why the court must quickly uphold the First Amendment rights of Camp IdRaHaJe and reject the notion that government ideologues can dictate doctrine.
This is not just a legal battle. The future of religious liberty and the protection of our children depend on the outcome.
PHOTO: The entry to Camp IdRaHaJe in Bailey, Colorado. Credit: Camp IdRaHaJe
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