A former Indiana teacher has won a large religious discrimination settlement against the school district that forced him out after he refused to violate his Christian beliefs.
Brownsburg Community School Corporation has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle the lawsuit brought by former high school music teacher John Kluge, who declined to use personal pronouns that did not match students’ biological sex.
Kluge, who taught orchestra and music theory at Brownsburg High School, was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, aided by attorneys Michael Cork, Kevin Green, and Ros Stovall. In addition to the financial payout, the district has agreed to train its senior staff on how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects religious employees from discrimination.
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Kluge filed the lawsuit after the district tried to force teachers to refer to students using transgender names and pronouns. He argued that complying with the policy would violate his sincerely held religious beliefs.
In 2017, Brownsburg had initially granted Kluge a religious accommodation under Title VII, allowing him to address all students by their last names. But then several students and teachers complained, and the district revoked the accommodation and forced Kluge to resign in 2021.
In August of 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the case should proceed to a jury trial. The court cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy, which clarified that employers must accommodate employees’ religious beliefs.
In light of that significant ruling by the Supreme Court, Brownsburg chose to settle the case rather than face potential liability during trial.
“After almost five and a half years, common sense has prevailed at Brownsburg,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman. “This settlement confirms what the law has always said: Public schools cannot force teachers to violate their religious beliefs.”
Cortman added, “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.”
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The settlement comes as religious freedom attorneys at Liberty Counsel point to similar disputes they’re litigating across the country. Liberty says it has several active Title VII lawsuits involving religious discrimination against Christian employees.
One such case involves former ethics Professor Daniel Grossenbach, who reports he was fired from the University of Arizona for publicly advocating for parental rights at local school board meetings where his children attend school.
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Another case focuses on bi-vocational Pastor Luke Ash, who was fired from his job as a library services technician at East Baton Rouge Parish Library in Louisiana for refusing to use non-matching pronouns for a female colleague.
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Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Title VII requires employers to provide reasonable religious accommodations to their employees. Schools and state organizations cannot force people to choose between their faith and their livelihood. Brownsburg School District made a costly mistake.”
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