A federal court in Oregon on Thursday upheld a Title IX exception that permits religious universities to receive federal funding even if they follow religious beliefs regarding marriage, sexual identity, and gender.
A group of 40 LGBT individuals filed the 2021 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to challenge an exception or loophole in Title IX that permits religious colleges to seek exemptions from the civil rights law’s restriction against sex-based discrimination.
Judge Ann Aiken from the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found that the loophole is “one narrow exception” to Title IX designed by Congress to safeguard institutions controlled by a religious organization and avoid interfering with their convictions that may conflict with the regulations….