Ruling against the arguments of Maryland state officials, a federal judge has held that a Seventh-day Adventist-run college is eligible to receive funds under a state program for private tertiary institutions. Columbia Union College (CUC), located in Takoma Park, Maryland, has fought for funding under the $40 million-a-year Sellinger Program since 1990.

Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the U.S. District Court initially denied CUC’s claim in 1996, saying that the religious mission of the college “pervaded” its curriculum. Thus, the judge said, state funding would be tantamount to state support for the religious mission of the school.  The college appealed the decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered the judge to reconsider his opinion. In his decision announced August 17, Judge Garbis ruled in favor of CUC.

By allowing direct payments of state money to the Adventist college, the case expands the limit of what is considered acceptable under the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.  The establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”-a legal principle that has spawned decades of litigation on the proper relationship between the government and religious organizations in the United States.

Established in 1904, CUC is a four-year liberal arts college with an enrollment of around 1,200 students. Under the Sellinger Program, CUC is eligible for some $800,000 per year. It is not known if the state will appeal the decision.