A school district that champions “diversity and inclusion” is discriminating against Christian student-teachers — because they attend a Bible college that won’t deny its faith and embrace secular dogma on marriage and sexuality.
The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago has filed a federal lawsuit against the city’s Board of Education, accusing the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) of religious discrimination. The district allegedly barred its students from participating in a student-teaching program because of the college’s faith-based hiring policies.
The suit, filed on November 4 by Alliance Defending Freedom, claims that CPS excluded Moody students from its Pre-Service Teaching Program when the college refused to sign agreements requiring compliance with the district’s nondiscrimination provisions. Those provisions prohibit employment discrimination based on religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
“As a condition of participation, Chicago Public Schools insists that Moody sign agreements with employment nondiscrimination provisions that forbid Moody from employing only those who share and live out its faith,”
According to the lawsuit, CPS demanded that Moody agree to stop hiring only employees who affirm its statement of faith and agree to live according to Christian teachings on gender and sexuality. “Such a requirement is unlawful,” the complaint states.
Moody sought to modify the agreements to acknowledge its right to employ individuals who share its religious beliefs, but CPS rejected the request, citing its “strict district-wide nondiscrimination policy.”
When no resolution was reached, CPS allegedly excluded Moody and its students from the teaching program.
The lawsuit argues that CPS selectively enforces its policies, noting that other faith-based institutions with similar hiring practices continue to partner with the district. It also claims that the district promotes its own equity and diversity initiatives, which include race and gender-based hiring goals.
Moody, a private evangelical college founded in 1886, received state approval for its elementary education program in 2024. Participation in the CPS student-teaching program is essential for students completing classroom observation hours and state licensure requirements.
Moody argues that the exclusion harms both its students and its academic reputation. The complaint points out that CPS, the largest school district in Illinois with a budget exceeding $8 billion, continues to face significant teacher shortages.
“Chicago desperately needs more teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies, but public school administrators are putting personal agendas ahead of the needs of families,” said ADF senior counsel Jeremiah Galus in a statement. “By excluding Moody for its religious beliefs, Chicago Public Schools is illegally injecting itself into a religious nonprofit’s hiring practices, which the Constitution and state laws expressly forbid.”
The lawsuit argues that CPS’s actions violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The college is asking the court for an injunction preventing CPS from enforcing its nondiscrimination clauses against Moody’s hiring practices and from excluding its students from district programs on the basis of religion. It is also seeking nominal and compensatory damages.
Over the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled in favor of protecting religious participation in public programs. In 2017, the Court decided in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer that Missouri violated the Free Exercise Clause by excluding a church from a state grant program to resurface its playground. Later rulings in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020) and Carson v. Makin (2022) further showed that faith-based schools and families are entitled to access government tuition aid on equal footing with secular institutions.
Those legal precedents have not stopped public school officials from discriminating against Christian students who attend Christian schools and universities, however. In a similar move to CPS, Washington Elementary School District in Arizona abruptly ended a longstanding student-teaching partnership with Arizona Christian University because of the university’s biblical views on marriage and sexuality. Two months after a lawsuit was filed, the school board voted to settle the case, which among other things, included renewing the student-teaching partnership.
Earlier this year, a federal judge also ruled that Darren Patterson Christian Academy in Colorado could participate in the state’s universal preschool program without being forced to compromise its faith-based standards.
It’s ironic that a school district that champions “diversity and inclusion” would go out of its way to exclude and discriminate against Christian students — not because they aren’t qualified to participate in teacher training programs but because they attend a college that adheres to biblical doctrine. Moody Bible Institute has just as much right to live out its faith as any other organization, but unfortunately too many government leaders think that the only way to be “neutral” is to be secular. And in today’s era, that means government officials expect Christian organizations to deny their own beliefs and adopt secular beliefs.
Believers must recognize this skewed take on the First Amendment and be prepared to challenge it. When they do, they win — and they usually win quickly. Arizona Christian University’s case is a prime example.
The Constitution is clear: Christian organizations are free to operate according to their biblical convictions, and they should never allow societal pressure or financial interests to coerce them into conforming to secular standards that contradict Scripture.
The Bible clearly calls believers to be “in the world but not of it” (John 17:14-16). Moody is standing firm in its faith-based teaching and now faces persecution. While no Christian institution should be compelled to compromise its convictions, the school is being obedient to God’s precepts by taking legal action to maintain equal treatment under the law and by not caving on its faith-based hiring practices.
Religious liberty, one of America’s founding principles, is a God-given right that extends to every part of life, including education and employment. When government demands that a Christian college hire people who reject its biblical standards on gender, sexuality, or life, it crosses a constitutional line. It discriminates against the freedom that allows ministries like Moody to exist.
This lawsuit is about more than one Christian college. This case could set a precedent for whether Christian institutions and ministries can continue to hire people who share their faith without government interference. If Moody loses, the message would send a concerning warning to every Christian organization in America.
If Moody stands firm and wins, it will reaffirm that adhering to biblical doctrine is not a form of discrimination and that Christian education plays a vital role in shaping workers and leaders. The Apostle Paul reminds us to “Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). In a culture increasingly hostile to truth, Moody’s stand is an act of faithfulness to teach and live out God’s Word without compromise.
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