Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Daily Email Edition

Get MN Daily NEWS delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Maranatha should not be allowed to discriminate

This Thanksgiving I won’t have to prove my worthiness to enter a church. I won’t have to show my official Catholic membership card to a bouncer at the door, or swipe my level-seven security clearance badge and submit to a retinal scan. I won’t even have to remember a secret password or handshake. That’s because churches don’t have closed-door policies or application processes. If a church doesn’t discriminate against its potential members, why should Maranatha Christian Fellowship?

Maranatha’s lawsuit against the regents is completely asinine and for more than just the aforementioned reasons. Maranatha has filed an anti-discrimination suit in hopes of gaining the power to discriminate against would-be members. Am I the only one who thinks that makes absolutely no sense? I’m disgusted at the sheer audacity they have to strive for funding from the University and yet attempt so blatantly to discriminate against members of its student body. This idea of screening membership is a clear-cut example of religious discrimination.

If Maranatha wants to be a private club that receives funding from its members and outside donations, more power to them. They can then regulate their members all they want to in much the same way that Augusta National Golf Club does. However, Maranatha seems to want the best of both worlds. They want the independence of a private group and the public funding of a student association. Why should a portion of my rapidly increasing tuition be made available to a group that, given the chance, would cold-heartedly bar my membership?

I was personally unaware that this particular Christian student organization is apparently the target of a massive infiltration plot by infidels. I had no idea sinners are desperately trying to join the ranks of Maranatha in order to subvert the entire organization. Apparently this student group doesn’t play well with others.

The assertion that Maranatha needs to be able to discriminate against prospective members in order to uphold the sanctity of the group is absurd. Even more ludicrous is the idea that student fees from those discriminated against should be available to fund this group, thus maintaining the discrimination against the students. This lawsuit is an attempt to purge ideals of civil rights that have taken decades to achieve. The University should have no part in building a wall between Maranatha and the student body.

Ben Findlay is a political science junior. He welcomes comments at [email protected]

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Accessibility Toolbar

Comments (0)

All The Minnesota Daily Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *