Texas Seminaries Pursuing Freedom from State Control
Jim Brown
January 12, 2005
AgapePress
The Texas Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in a landmark religious liberty case that will determine whether seminaries will be regulated by the state. Under current Texas law, seminaries cannot issue degrees unless the state government approves their curriculum, professors, and board.
Tyndale Seminary was recently fined $173,000 recently for issuing theological degrees without a license from the Government of Texas. In response, Tyndale and two other seminaries filed a lawsuit against the state for violating the both Texas Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.
Liberty Legal Institute (LLI) chief counsel Kelly Shackelford has been representing Tyndale Seminary before the Texas Supreme Court in the case. He says it is ‘absurd’ for the government to be telling churches and other religious institutions how to train pastors.