A Christian music teacher in Indiana has secured a major victory for religious freedom, receiving a $650,000 settlement from his former school district after resigning over a policy requiring him to affirm students’ gender confusion with preferred pronouns.
John Kluge, who taught at Brownsburg High School for four years, faced discipline when the district mandated teachers use names and pronouns aligning with students’ self-perceived identities. Initially allowed to address all students by surnames as an accommodation for his biblical beliefs, Kluge was later told this was no longer acceptable. He resigned in 2018 rather than violate his faith.
An appeals court ruled last year that a jury should hear the case, citing a Supreme Court decision strengthening protections for religious employees. The Brownsburg Community School Corporation chose to settle instead of going to trial, agreeing to pay Kluge $650,000 and train senior staff on religious liberty.
David Cortman of Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Kluge, hailed the outcome: “After almost five and a half years, common sense has prevailed at Brownsburg. This settlement confirms what the law has always said: Public schools cannot force teachers to violate their religious beliefs. Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs and practices. When they fail to do so—or worse, announce that they will grant no religious accommodations, as Brownsburg did—they can be held accountable. We hope this settlement shows teachers that they do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates that violate their religious beliefs. And schools should learn that refusing to accommodate religious employees can be illegal and expensive.”
In a related case, Texas minister Andrew Fox was ousted as a volunteer chaplain at Austin Fire Department after posting that men should not compete in women’s sports. Austin City settled, paying damages and issuing a letter acknowledging the program’s inclusivity of all faiths and viewpoints.These settlements affirm that Christian beliefs on gender and marriage are protected, pushing back against mandates that compel speech contrary to faith and biological truth.