Trinity Western University Law School: An Autopsy of a Life Never Lived

In my previous final post on the sad story of how Trinity Western University's law school never came to be (here), I concluded with the hope that "I hope that virtue-signaling Evangelicals will wake up and smell the coffee." Well, that hope has proved forlorn as the sanctity of second-person discourse (at least if the second person identifies as LGTBQ+) continues to run amok.

For those who want a thorough analysis of the majority opinion in the Canadian Supreme Court judgement in "TWU 2018" and what it portends for the future, I can only suggest that you go here and download Derek Ross's article 'Intolerant and Illiberal'? Trinity Western University and its Implications for Charter Jurisprudence. Quoting the abstract:

Canada’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. This means that religious communities have the right to “insist upon certain moral commitments from those who wish to join” them. In Wall v Highwood Congregation, the Supreme Court affirmed that “religious groups are free to determine their own membership and rules” and that it will not intervene in “issues of theology.” But two weeks later, in Trinity Western University, the Supreme Court ruled that government actors could refuse to recognize law degrees issued by a religious university because of its religiously-based admissions requirements.

Many aspects of the Trinity Western ruling are difficult to reconcile with the Court’s previous interpretations of the Charter, including its 2001 decision which explicitly affirmed Trinity Western’s right to maintain a Community Covenant. This article offers a critique of the reasoning employed (especially by the majority), and provides some reflections on what the ruling might mean for future jurisprudence, particularly in the area of religious freedom. 

While I continue to believe it unlikely that Donald Trump will be reelected in 2020, those who cluck their tongues at the Evangelicals that helped put him in office would do well to look north of the border to see what the future of religious liberty in America holds.