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A catholic school’s ability to operate in accordance with its faith is in jeopardy. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard oral arguments in St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel on Tuesday, June 11. The case involves a Catholic school in Michigan that is asking the court to protect its ability to hire staff who share its faith.

The Michigan Supreme Court reinterpreted a state civil rights statute’s definition of sex in July 2022 to include sexual orientation without any exemption for religious organizations. In March 2023, the Michigan legislature wrote this into state law, expressly prohibiting discrimination on sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The school’s right to hire staff who hold its views on marriage and gender is at risk. St. Joseph’s asks all staff to be practicing Catholics and uphold the faith. 

St. Joseph’s also risks being sued for discrimination because of its beliefs about gender and marriage, as the law makes it illegal to decline to use staff or students’ preferred personal pronouns, or to have separate girls’ and boys’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Will Haun argued the case before the Sixth Circuit Court on June 11.

“At stake for St. Joseph’s is whether or not St. Joseph can continue to operate as a Catholic parish, a Catholic school, a Catholic institution in Michigan without having to surrender its way of life or ask permission from the government first before it exercises its religion,” Haun told The Daily Signal.

Haun joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss what the case means for Christian institutions nationwide.

Listen to the podcast below.