In a recent ruling, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago declared that an Indiana high school did not violate federal workplace discrimination laws by allegedly forcing a music teacher to resign from his post after he refused to use transgender students’ preferred names on religious grounds. The teacher, John Kluge, claimed that his Christian religious beliefs prohibited him from complying with the school’s policy requiring faculty to use students’ preferred names and pronouns. Although the school initially allowed Kluge to call students by their last names, it rescinded this accommodation after receiving complaints from students and faculty. Kluge eventually resigned in 2018 after being told that he would be fired.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, represented Kluge in his lawsuit against the school district, seeking reinstatement and unspecified damages for the alleged violation of his federal workplace discrimination rights. However, the 7th Circuit ruled that Kluge’s religious rights were outweighed by the potential harm and disruption his conduct could cause to the learning environment at Brownsburg High School in the Indianapolis suburbs.
The ruling sparked outrage among LGBTQ+ advocates and civil rights organizations, who criticized the court’s decision as discriminatory and harmful to transgender students. The dissenting opinion of Circuit Judge Michael Brennan argued that the school’s ability to mitigate any disruption resulting from Kluge’s conduct was unclear, suggesting that a jury should have decided whether Kluge’s rights were violated.
The ruling highlights the ongoing debate over how to balance religious freedom and LGBTQ+ rights in public institutions. While federal law requires employers to accommodate workers’ religious beliefs, it also prohibits workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Advocates of LGBTQ+ rights argue that accommodating religious beliefs should not come at the expense of equal treatment and inclusion of transgender students and employees.