Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Civil Rights

A Private University Drew a State Investigation for Its Anti-LGBTQ Policy. So It’s Suing.

By Isha Trivedi July 29, 2022
A middle-aged man is seen with with short black hair and square-framed glasses and dressed in a suit and tie. He gestures with an open palm while delivering remarks in a press conference room.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson of WashingtonTed S. Warren, AP

A Christian university in Seattle is suing Washington State’s attorney general, alleging religious discrimination, because of his efforts to investigate the institution’s anti-LGBTQ employment policy.

According to the complaint, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, notified Seattle Pacific University on June 8 that his office was requesting internal information and communications about the policy, which has been widely criticized by Seattle Pacific students and faculty members, and drawn national attention in recent months. The policy expects university employees to refrain from “cohabitation, extramarital sexual activity, and same-sex sexual activity.”

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

A Christian university in Seattle is suing Washington State’s attorney general, alleging religious discrimination, because of his efforts to investigate the institution’s anti-LGBTQ employment policy.

According to the complaint, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, notified Seattle Pacific University on June 8 that his office was requesting internal information and communications about the policy, which has been widely criticized by Seattle Pacific students and faculty members, and drawn national attention in recent months. The policy expects university employees to refrain from “cohabitation, extramarital sexual activity, and same-sex sexual activity.”

Students at the university have been protesting the policy for a year and a half, and this summer they held a sit-in for more than a month outside the interim president Pete C. Menjares’s office. But university leaders have refused to change the policy. Student activists said this month that they planned to sue Seattle Pacific’s Board of Trustees for “breach of fiduciary duty,” arguing that the policy has hurt the university’s reputation and, accordingly, the value of their degrees.

Seattle Pacific is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church of North America, which passed a resolution this year that directly affects the university. The resolution states that if a university changed its employment policies to be incompatible with the church’s teachings on sexual conduct, it would lose its affiliation with the church.

The university’s lawsuit, filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Wash., argues that the Free Methodist Church would cut ties with Seattle Pacific if it changed the policy, whether voluntarily or “under compulsion of law.”

“This would result in the loss of a religious affiliation that has existed for over 130 years,” the complaint states. The 3,400-student university was founded in 1891.

By threatening that relationship with the Free Methodist Church, the complaint argues, Washington State’s attorney general is violating the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom. Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket Law, which is representing Seattle Pacific in the case, said Ferguson had “singled out” the university because of its Christian beliefs.

“The attorney general is wielding state power to interfere with the religious beliefs of a religious university, and a church, whose beliefs he disagrees with,” the complaint states. “He is using the powers of his office (and even powers not granted to his office) to pressure and retaliate against Seattle Pacific University.”

“For years, American courts have been clear that external officials cannot dictate how religious institutions live out their faith commitments,” Windham said in an email to The Chronicle. “Our laws protect religious universities from unlawful demands by governmental officials.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the attorney general referred The Chronicle to a statement saying that Ferguson’s office did not “prejudge whether Seattle Pacific University’s employment policies or its actions are illegal,” and is committed to upholding a Washington law prohibiting discrimination.

“The lawsuit demonstrates,” the statement says, “that the university believes it is above the law to such an extraordinary degree that it is shielded from answering basic questions from my office regarding the university’s compliance with state law.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Law & Policy Political Influence & Activism
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Isha Trivedi
Isha Trivedi is a reporting intern at The Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @ishaa_trivedi or email her at isha.trivedi@chronicle.com
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
Duke Administrators Accused of Bypassing Shared-Governance Process in Offering Buyouts
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson
Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin