The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Monday held that a San Jose California school district had to officially recognize a Christian student group. The school district derecognized the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) because of a statement of faith the leading members were required to abide by. The statement “include[d] the belief that sexual relations should be limited within the context of a marriage between a man and a woman.” The school district claimed this pledge violated their non-discrimination policy. In response to the derecognition, two FCA student leaders and FCA National filed suit against the school district.

The court’s opinion stated that “[t]his case pits two competing values that we cherish as a nation: the principle of non-discrimination on the one hand, and the First Amendment’s protection of free exercise of religion and free speech on the other hand.”

Ultimately the court said the school district targeted FCA because of its religious-based views on marriage and sexuality, not because of the alleged non-discrimination claims. The court found that the school district had selectively enforced its non-discrimination policy against the FCA solely because of their religious views while simultaneously allowing other student groups whose constitutions limited membership based on ethnicity. Thus, the school district was subjected to the highest level of judicial scrutiny, strict scrutiny, because of the restriction on the FCA’s free exercise of religion. The court ordered the FCA be reinstated as an officially recognized student group, stating “[t]he government cannot set double standards to the detriment of religious groups only.”