Attorneys with the Christian Legal Society (CLS) and the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Tuesday in federal court against the University of Georgia because officials refuse to recognize a Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX), as a registered student group. The school objected to the fraternity's requirement that its members and officers hold Christian beliefs.
BYX, which stands for Brothers Under Christ, is a fraternity of Christian male college students who wish to foster fellowship through their common belief in Jesus Christ. The university denied the fraternity recognition in November, claiming the group’s requirements that officials and members profess faith in Christ is “religious discrimination.”
The complaint is filed as Beta Upsilon Chi v. Adams in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Athens Division.
Timothy Tracey, litigation counsel for CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom, said Christian student groups cannot be singled out for discrimination.
"The right of association applies to all student groups on a public university campus,” he said. “The University of Georgia deprives Christian student groups of this right when they force them to open their membership and leadership to students who disagree with their Christian beliefs.”
