Kuilema v. Calvin University
Case Snapshot
Calvin University is a world-class Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that prepares students to engage the world through faith, curiosity, and conviction. To accomplish this mission, Calvin asks its administrators and professors to uphold its beliefs in word and deed. However, in 2023, a former professor sued the university after his contract was not renewed for publicly violating Calvin’s conduct expectations for faculty. He is now asking a court to punish Calvin for upholding its religious mission.
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Case Summary
A university founded on a religious mission
Founded in 1876 by the Christian Reformed Church, Calvin University exists to prepare students for lifelong learning, scholarship, worship, and service. Calvin faculty are expected to subscribe to the confessional standards of the Christian Reformed Church and to integrate faith and learning in their teaching and scholarship. A focal point of university life is its chapel, which holds daily services to provide students and staff a break from work and time to seek God together. Beyond campus, Calvin extends its degree program offerings into Handlon Correctional Facility through the Calvin Prison Initiative and provides students with opportunities to serve in the local Grand Rapids community. For example, Calvin students help tutor refugee children at the Refugee Education Center, offer companionship to patients at Gentiva Hospice, and provide homebound seniors with meals through Meals on Wheels Western Michigan.
Faithful university in court for its beliefs
To ensure its religious mission remains strong, Calvin asks its employees to agree to uphold its Christian beliefs in word and deed. While the university allows for some personal disagreements with church teaching, it has clear guidelines for teaching, scholarship, and personal conduct that all employees must follow, including expectations about how to handle disagreement. In 2021, a professor broke these guidelines when he officiated a same-sex marriage in violation of Calvin’s religious beliefs. After multiple attempts to resolve disagreements with the professor, Calvin decided not to renew his contract. The professor then sued Calvin under Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, claiming that the university had discriminated against him for his participation in the same-sex wedding ceremony and should be held liable for adhering to its religious beliefs.
The law protects Calvin’s freedom to live its faith
On June 13, 2024, Becket filed an opening brief at the Michigan Court of Appeals to protect Calvin’s ability to operate consistent with its faith. The brief argues that as a religious university, Calvin has the freedom to ensure that those who teach the faith to students uphold and model its beliefs. Additionally, allowing courts to meddle in disputes over Calvin’s religious beliefs about marriage violates the law. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled—and recently in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru—that religious institutions have the freedom to decide matters of governance, faith, and doctrine without courts getting involved.
In addition to Becket, Calvin is also represented by attorneys Stephen J. van Stempvoort and Jacob L. Carlton of Miller Johnson PLC.
Importance to Religious Liberty:
- Religious Communities: Churches and religious organizations have a right to live, teach, and govern in accordance with the tenets of their faith. When the government unjustly interferes in internal church affairs, the separation of church and state is threatened. The First Amendment ensures a church’s right to self-definition and free association.