SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A former Missouri State University student who was dismissed from his master’s program over his religious beliefs is being granted a $25,000 settlement from the university, according to The Christian Post.
Andrew Cash, who began the program in 2007 and was a student in excellent standing, was nearly finished with his master’s program when he and the school differed on the subject of counseling gay couples. He was in the process of completing a 600-hour university-approved internship with the Springfield Marriage and Family Institute (SMFI), a Christian counseling group, when his academic adviser discovered Cash had opted not to council a gay couple about their relationship but had offered to refer them to someone who was a better fit to advise them. He also expressed he would be happy to counsel gay individuals on any other topic, according to the Post.
The university suddenly deemed SMFI unfit for academic internships because of “ethnical concerns,” and Cash was terminated from the master’s program.
The amount of the settlement is the “estimated tuition … for Cash to obtain a master’s … in counseling,” the Post reported. (TAB)
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