Christian nonprofit sues state for religious discrimination

Bethany Christian Services accused the state of Michigan of discriminating against the faith-based adoption organization because of its religious hiring practices. The nonprofit filed a complaint alleging the government violated Bethany’s religious freedoms by pulling long-standing funding from the organization. Earlier this year, the state denied Bethany refugee resettlement services contracts for the first time since the nonprofit became a government contractor in 1981, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement.

How do they know Bethany was targeted and it wasn’t just budget cuts? The Office of Global Michigan, or OGM, doles out funding from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement for programs in Michigan. OGM used that funding to partner with nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations like Bethany that provided humanitarian assistance to refugees. However, in late 2023 officials took issue with Bethany requiring employees to affirm the Apostles’ Creed in its statement of faith, the organization said. The OGM then denied Bethany’s grant funding for the next calendar year. WORLD contacted the OGM and the office of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for more details on why Bethany’s funding was cut and did not receive an immediate response.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s report in WORLD Magazine about Bethany’s 2019 policy shift allowing same-sex couples to become foster parents.