Nashville, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) -- Students at two Christian universities in Tennessee have signed on to a class action lawsuit challenging LGBTQ related religious exemptions to federal Title IX regulations.
One student at Nashville’s Lipscomb University and two students at Union University in Jackson are plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education.
Title IX prohibits institutions receiving federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. However, the federal regulations include exceptions for some circumstances, including a religiously based exemption.
In its student handbook, Lipscomb University stipulates "All students should practice the biblical standards of sexual morality. Sexual immorality of any kind is prohibited."
The legal challenge against the Title IX religious exemption is being orchestrated by an Oregon based advocacy group called the Religious Exemption Accountability Project. The group says its goal is to “end the sexual, physical and psychological abuses perpetrated under the religious exemption to Title IX at thousands of federally-funded schools, colleges and universities across America.
WMOT has asked Lipscomb University for comment on the suit.