Federal judge temporarily bars Texas seminary from issuing theological degrees

By The Associated Press

04.28.01

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AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge on April 25 granted a preliminary injunction halting a Central Texas seminary locked in a legal battle with the state from issuing theological degrees.

U.S. District Judge James Nowlin delivered the decision at the request of the state, which was sued last month by the Institute for Teaching God's Word in Rockdale.

The lawsuit came in response to fines given to the school by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The school was fined $15,000 for handing out theological degrees without state approval and a $3,000 fine for using the term "seminary."

School representatives said it is accredited by a national organization, the American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions, but has not received state approval because it does not offer math, science or English as a part of the curriculum.

A spokesman for Liberty Legal Institute in Plano, which represents the school, called the injunction outrageous.

"The government first fined the seminary and now bans them from issuing theological degrees without receiving government approval for its curriculum and professors? If religious training for all theological degrees has to first be approved by the government, then religious freedom is dead," said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for the institute.

A spokesman for the Texas attorney general's office said they were pleased with the injunction.

"It supports our case in that we held all along that the statute is religion neutral," spokesman Tom Kelley said. "We're saying that like any other accredited seminary, you get certification and become accredited so the degrees awarded are legitimate."

State law prohibits unaccredited schools from calling themselves seminaries or granting degrees including the words "bachelor," "master" or "doctor." The Legislature passed the law in 1975 as a way to close diploma mills.

The Coordinating Board says it must regulate unaccredited schools to protect consumers from fraud and ensure the legitimacy of degrees.

In a similar case, a state district court judge recently ruled against another Texas seminary, the Tyndale Theological Seminary, after the Coordinating Board issued a $170,000 fine against it for issuing 34 theological degrees without a certificate of authority from the state. The seminary is appealing the ruling.