WASHINGTON — A Washington-area megachurch filed a federal lawsuit July 3, challenging a government ruling that it was improperly holding seminary-level classes on church grounds.
The nondenominational McLean Bible Church, which draws about 9,500 worshipers to its services in Fairfax County, Va., each Sunday, partnered with Capital Bible Seminary in 2001 to offer Bible study and religious ministry classes.
Although the church does not issue academic credit or confer academic degrees, students were allowed to take classes at the church for credit toward a master’s degree in Bible studies and theology from the Capital Bible Seminary. In 2004, Fairfax County officials determined that the classes went beyond those of a typical Sunday School. McLean would need to apply for “college or university” status to continue holding the classes.
McLean claims that “like any other house of worship, an integral part of the church’s ministry is a study of the writing and beliefs sacred to its religion,” according to a court filing by the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington-based conservative law firm that has taken the church’s appeal.
The church’s suit claims that Fairfax County’s actions violate its constitutional rights to religious free exercise, as well as freedom of speech and association.
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