SW News: A Catholic church in the US State of Michigan is challenging the government over a civil rights law that compels it to go against its gender and marriage principles. On Monday, St Joseph's Catholic Church in St. John's Clinton County filed a complaint against Dana Nessel, the attorney general of Michigan.

The parish filed a lawsuit following a recent ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court, which re-defined the term "sex discrimination" in the state's 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Under the new act, the court considered claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and provided 'protections' to the same, without any exemption for religious organizations.

The school has raised concern that the way the state's civil rights laws are currently being interpreted may force it to employ church or school employees who disagree with its teachings on gender ideology and marriage. According to the complaint, the act does not include a religious exception that would protect St. Joseph's employment practices and apply its code of conduct to workers and students.

"Michigan's recent redefinition of sex under state law threatens to undermine this religious mission by making it illegal for Saint Joseph to follow the 2,000-year-old teachings of the Catholic Church on sex, gender, and marriage," says a representative of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty that represents the parish in the case.

The lawsuit emphasized concerns of the parish that would affect the right to religious freedom enshrined in the US Constitution's First Amendment.

Noting that if biologically male students wish to use the female locker room and participate in a female sports team, the parish raised concern that they may be held accountable for "sex" discrimination.

According to the legal argument, the same might be held if someone wanted to host a same-sex wedding at the church. "We filed a lawsuit to protect Saint Joseph's right to live out its faith as a religious institution. Michigan cannot force the Catholic Church to compromise its religious character simply because its doors are open to all," added the Becket Fund.