Youth 71Five Ministries lawsuit dismissed, federal judge rules

Published 1:00 pm Monday, July 1, 2024

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit, brought by a Medford-based youth-mentoring Christian ministry, that claimed the Oregon Department of Education engaged in religious discrimination when it denied the nonprofit grant funding.

On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke ruled with the state education department for dismissal and found the agency could not be sued on the grounds that Youth 71Five Ministries claimed.

Youth 71Five Ministries filed a lawsuit March 4 in U.S. District Court in Medford after learning in late 2023 that the department would not fund the ministry for the 2023-25 grant cycle because it requires employees and volunteers to sign a “statement of faith.”

The ministry, claiming it lost over $400,000 in grant funding, ordered the court to restore the money. The nonprofit also asked the state education department to refrain from its alleged discriminatory actions again. Oral arguments were held in May.

In his ruling last week, Clarke said that while the U.S. Constitution protects religious beliefs, it does not guarantee an unlimited right to religious practice.

Likewise, Clarke found that the education department’s Youth Development Division — the entity behind the grand funds — did not exclude Youth 71Five Ministries from funding “solely because of religious character or exercise.” Clarke also found that the education department’s nondiscrimination requirement “does not turn on an applicant’s religious character or religious exercise.”

While Youth 71Five Ministries claimed that actions like asking participants to sign a statement were protected under the Constitution, Clarke said church autonomy can only go so far.

“The church autonomy doctrine, or ministerial exception, is an affirmative defense against suit by a disgruntled church employee, not a standalone right that can be wielded against a state agency,” the judge wrote.

Clarke ordered the case dismissed with prejudice, meaning Youth 71Five Ministries cannot file the same lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

Attorneys with the case were unavailable for comment.