Jennifer Keeton, a graduate student with Augusta State University, is yet another casualty in an ongoing war against Christianity and religious freedom. While pursuing a degree in counseling at Augusta State, Keeton was forced to undergo a “remediation plan,” due to her biblical worldview. Keeton, you see, is a Christian. So long as Christians set the Bible aside or water down their views or keep them private, there’s no problem. Not yet anyway. But when a Christian actually takes the Bible seriously, particularly on an issue like homosexuality, and then dares to express her biblically based views, well, quite a few people do have a problem with that….as Ms. Keeton is learning.

When Keeton was assigned this remediation plan (which reportedly included a requirement that she attend a gay pride parade), she filed suit. A U.S. judge ruled against Keeton, saying that the remediation plan was “academically legitimate.” With support from the Alliance Defense Fund, Keeton appealed. Now, a three-judge panel has upheld that ruling, dealing Keeton another setback. Her attorneys have now filed for an appeal with the Circuit Court.

Keeton probably believed that, because of the Bill of Rights, she had the freedom, even as a graduate student, to believe the Bible and express her religious views. Unfortunately, Keeton is learning that when those views come in conflict with an agenda that modern society has declared politically correct, then religious freedom takes a back seat in an increasing number of places in American society today, including Augusta State University.

I have no problem with a university teaching its students to be sensitive and compassionate in how they express their views. If Keeton were abrasive or hateful in her comments, then I can certainly appreciate the need for Augusta State University to deal with that accordingly. But, according to what I’ve read, this was not the case. Keeton simply said she believed homosexuality was “morally wrong,” a position that is certainly in line with Scripture. This case has wide ramifications. For example, now that gays and lesbians are serving openly in the armed forces, will chaplains (including evangelical, Bible-believing chaplains) be required to counsel gays and lesbians in ways that conflict with their biblically held beliefs? There are already indications that the answer to this is yes.

Must Bible-believing Christians operating in academic, military, and government settings be required to jettison their beliefs or openly work against them in order to pursue successful careers and make a living for themselves and their families? If the answer is yes, then religious freedom is perhaps seeing its last days in the United States of America.