Seventh-day Adventist College Gets State Aid In Maryland.

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Seventh-day Adventist college in Maryland is eligible for state funding.

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously June 25 that Maryland officials did not sufficiently prove that aid to Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Md., would violate church-state separation.

"We recognize the sensitivity of this issue and respect the constitutional imperative for government not to impermissibly advance religious interests," wrote Chief Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III in the Columbia Union College v. Oliver ruling. Nevertheless, by refusing to fund a religious institution because of religion, the government risks discriminating against a class of citizens solely because of faith."

Columbia Union applied for state aid in 1990 and filed a lawsuit in 1996 when it was denied. Religiously affiliated colleges can only receive government help if the aid is not used for religious activities. "Pervasively sectarian" schools -- those where secular instruction and faith are inextricably intertwined -- are ineligible for government assistance because it would inevitably advance religion. The state argued unsuccessfully that Columbia Union is a pervasively sectarian institution.

The appeals court ruling upholds a district court ruling issued last August.