Christian student fights for her beliefs
Bill Bumpas - OneNewsNow - 7/22/2010 12:25:00 PM
Jennifer Keeton, 24, is pursuing her master's degree in counseling at Augusta State University. But after her professors learned of her biblical beliefs -- specifically her views on homosexual conduct -- from both classroom discussions and private conversations with other students, the school imposed a "remediation plan."
"It's in essence [telling her] 'you do not have the correct beliefs, we are going to re-educate you into the correct beliefs,'" explains David French, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. "And unless she completes this -- quote -- 'remediation plan' to their satisfaction, then she can be thrown out of [the school's counseling program]."
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French tells OneNewsNow there are some absurd elements to the plan. "Such as admonishing her to go to -- quote -- a 'gay-pride parade' and write about her feelings after she's been," he describes. "In other words, [the school's plan would be] deliberately exposing her to behavior that she finds immoral in the hope that she'll accept it. It's ridiculous."
French calls it "pure thought reform" and accuses Augusta State of outlining "a program of indoctrination" for Keeton.
"Jennifer is not interested in being indoctrinated, she wants to be educated," states the attorney. "She wants to learn about the counseling profession, she wants to be a good counselor -- but being a good counselor does not require that one surrender their most fundamental religious beliefs."
And so French says Keeton is filing suit [PDF] to get the school to respect her First Amendment rights. "A public university student shouldn't be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that's exactly what's happening here," he concludes.
