An American university banned the existence of a Christian student group on their campus and due to the discrimination, the group took legal action.

The University of Iowa's InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was told by the university leaders that they had violated their non-discrimination policy because they required their leaders to declare their faith. The University took control of all of InterVarsity's assets and shut it down.

Not only was their website taken down and their bank account frozen, the University actively advertised that the group was "defunct" and unwanted by students. 

Judge Stephanie M. Rose, did not validate the University's actions and stated that it was inconsistent in its policy implementation. She then ruled that the University of Iowa's actions violated students’ First Amendment rights.

“We must have leaders who share our faith. No group, religious or secular, could survive with leaders who reject its values”, Greg Jao, InterVarsity spokesman told Joy News. InterVarsity is grateful for the judge's ruling and hopes to continue sharing the gospel on campus for years to come.

The University of Iowa has revised its policy. They now "permit student organizations to require their leaders “to agree to and support” the organization’s beliefs". This case has lead to many of the administrators being held personally responsible for any financial loses InterVarsity may have occurred during this trial. 

InterVarsity was not the only victim of this policy. Almost 40 other religious groups such as the Chinese Student Christian Fellowship, Muslims, and more have been removed from the campus.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941. They provide university students with a community of prayer, worship, and faith-based discussions.