Adventist College Can Receive State Funds, United States Court Rules
Takoma Park, Maryland, USA .... [Bettina Krause/ANN Staff/ANN]
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A Seventh-day Adventist college in Maryland is eligible to receive
state government funding, a United States court ruled June 26. The
decision comes after an 11-year quest by Columbia Union College to gain
funding under the Sellinger Program, a state program that distributes
grants to private colleges in Maryland.

"Columbia Union College is pleased and satisfied with the results of
the decision," said Randal Wisbey, president of CUC, in a statement
released June 28.

Columbia Union College cannot be excluded from the Sellinger Program
solely because of its religious nature, said a three-member panel of
the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. By denying a grant only on the basis
of religion ,"the government risks discriminating against a class of
citizens solely because of faith," the court said.  

Direct state funding of CUC would not violate the United States
Constitution's Establishment Clause "[b]ecause state aid is allocated
on a neutral basis to an institution of higher education which will not
use the funds for any sectarian purpose . . .," wrote Chief Judge J.
Harvie Wilkinson.

CUC first applied for funds under the Sellinger Program in 1990. In
1992, state officials denied CUC's application on the basis that CUC
was "pervasively sectarian"--that the religious and secular purposes of
the school were so intertwined that they could not be separated. Thus,
the religious purpose of CUC would inevitably be advanced by any
government funding, the state argued.

However, a district court ruled in August 2000 that CUC is not
fundamentally different from the religious schools that currently
receive aid under the program and so to deny CUC funding would violate
the principle of equal protection under the law. 

After examining the evidence, the district court said that the
Adventist Church "exerted dominance over college affairs" and that
hiring and admissions preferences were given to Adventist Church
members.  But the court also said that the "primary goal and function
of Columbia Union College is to provide a secular education even though
it has a definite and strong secondary goal to teach with a 'Christian
vision.'" 

In CUC's June 28 statement, Wisbey reaffirmed the college's commitment
to its Statement of Community Ethos, saying, "[W]e value faith in God,
we celebrate the goodness of creation, the dignity of diverse peoples
and the possibility of human transformation.  Through worship and
shared life, we uphold spiritual integrity and are committed to
achieving it."
 

ANN World News Bulletin is a review of news and information issued by
the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church
World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist
News Network. It is made available primarily to religious news editors.
Our news includes dispatches from the church's international offices
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"Adventist News Network" is acknowledged. 

ANN Staff: Ray Dabrowski, director; 
Bettina Krause, news director; 
Ansel Oliver, editorial assistant. 
Copyright Adventist News Network 2001.