complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.Seattle Pacific is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, a conservative denomination that is separate from the United Methodist Church.
The university will not employ people who are in same-sex marriages and expects employees to adhere to its policy that sex is reserved exclusively for the marriage of a man and a woman, The Seattle Times reports.The university affirmed that policy in May, and officials have said it would lose its affiliation with the Free Methodist Church if it rescinded the policy.
LGBTQ-supportive students responded by staging a sit-in outside the president’s office and handing him miniature Pride flags at the graduation ceremony in June.
Also, Jeaux Rinedahl, an adjunct nursing professor, sued SPU in 2021, saying it denied him a tenured position because he’s gay.