On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Defends Messianic Jewish Ministry’s Right to Pass Out Religious Literature on Univ. of Denver’s Campus & at Multicultural Event
DENVER, Co. — The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a Messianic Jewish minister who, after 17 years of distributing religious literature on the University of Denver’s (DU) campus and participating in its annual diversity festival, is allegedly being subjected to an effort by DU administrators to remove him from the campus because of the controversial nature of his message.
The Rutherford Institute’s letter to the University of Denver is available here.
“If the First Amendment means anything, it means that individuals have the right to speak freely, even when that speech is politically incorrect or distasteful to others,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Unfortunately, there is a growing tendency on both the Left and the Right—especially within the academic community—to demonize those with whom they disagree, either because they subscribe to politically incorrect beliefs or associate with individuals who might be the slightest bit controversial.”
For the past 17 years, Reuben Drebenstedt, the head of the Messianic Jewish ministry Menorah Ministries, has distributed religious literature at a table on the Driscoll Center Bridge, which is located on the University of Denver’s (DU) campus. Menorah Ministries has also participated every year since its inception in DU’s Festival of Nations event, which is open to the public and is aimed at celebrating the international diversity at DU through a sampling of various cultural foods, traditions, music and dances. However, after DU officials reportedly received complaints from a Muslim student who objected to the controversial content of Drebenstedt’s literature—some of which articulates Menorah Ministries’ views about the Islamic religion—Drebenstedt was informed that he would have to sign a Vendor Agreement and comply with all the requirements and costs associated with being a vendor.
Insisting that Menorah Ministries is not a vendor and that the expenses associated with being classified as a vendor are costly and prohibitive, Institute attorneys have warned DU officials that their actions could be construed as a violation of Drebenstedt’s religious liberty and as religious and ethnic discrimination under applicable Colorado public accommodations laws. As Institute attorneys point out, this is not the first time Menorah Ministries has encountered opposition by DU. In the mid-1990s, Drebenstedt was forced to file a lawsuit against the University of Denver in order to pass out religious literature on campus. The lawsuit was settled in 1995, with Drebenstedt being guaranteed the right to access DU’s campus and to specifically pass out literature at tables on the Driscoll Center Bridge, at no cost and without prior approval. Affiliate attorney James Rouse is assisting the Institute in its defense of Drebenstedt.
