Defending Religious Freedom: Ratio Christi’s First Amendment Victory on Campus

Ratio Christi, a college campus evangelism and apologetics ministry, successfully defended its First Amendment rights with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom. In 2020, President Donald Trump’s first Department of Education enacted the Free Inquiry Rule, which allowed religious campus student organizations to have leaders who reflect the organization’s theological beliefs and to share those beliefs freely without university discrimination. The rule was put to the test in January 2021 when the Secular Student Alliance, with the assistance of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, filed suit against the Biden administration’s Department of Education.

That same month, Ratio Christi moved to enter the case to defend the Free Inquiry Rule. The Biden administration, sympathetic to the secular claims, initially tried to repeal the rule. In December 2024, however, it announced it was abandoning its attempt to change the regulation. On January 15, the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Columbia ruled in favor of the unchanged Free Inquiry Rule.

“Universities are meant to be a marketplace of ideas where students can learn to respect diverse opinions and beliefs and not have to fear punishment or harassment because of their own values,” said Matt Bowman, senior counsel for the alliance. “The Department of Education under President Trump rightfully updated its regulations to ensure that institutions of higher education have policies that align with the First Amendment. Christian student group Ratio Christi has at least twice gone to court over discriminatory policies targeted at their beliefs, and the Department of Education updated its regulations to prevent these types of violations. We’re pleased the court upheld First Amendment freedoms for college students everywhere.”

Ratio Christi is a college campus ministry with more than 100 chapter groups across the United States. It equips university students and faculty to give historical, scientific and philosophical reasons to believe Christianity is true. For more information, visit www.RatioChristi.org.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice