A Christian nonprofit dedicated to teaching biblical principles on human sexuality has taken legal action against a major California-based tech company for alleged religious discrimination.
Holy Sexuality, a Christian ministry that produces video courses to help families and young people navigate sexuality through a biblical lens, filed a federal lawsuit against Asana, a San Francisco software company, after it was denied a nonprofit discount on Asana’s project management software. According to the lawsuit, Asana refused to grant the 50% discount specifically because Holy Sexuality is a religious organization—a policy that violates California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
“Christians and other people of faith aren’t second-class citizens in California, and San Francisco tech companies can’t refuse discounts to customers simply because they’re religious,” said ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann. “We are urging the court to affirm our client Holy Sexuality’s fundamental freedom of religion, declare Asana’s discriminatory denial and policy unlawful, and require Asana to grant Holy Sexuality the nonprofit discount.”
Holy Sexuality was founded by Dr. Christopher Yuan to counter the cultural confusion on sexuality and gender identity with biblical truth. Asana denied the ministry access to its nonprofit discount, citing its policy against “[r]eligious organizations that exist to solely propagate a belief in a specific faith.”
California Family Council Speaks Out
California Family Council (CFC), a leading voice for religious liberty in the state, condemned Asana’s policy, calling it a blatant violation of civil rights.
“Religious organizations serve the public just like any other nonprofit,” said CFC Vice President Greg Burt. “Denying a Christian ministry a discount that’s available to every other nonprofit isn’t just discriminatory—it’s unconstitutional. No business in America, especially one operating in California, should be allowed to punish religious groups simply for following their faith.”
Burt pointed out that California law is clear in prohibiting businesses from discriminating against customers based on religious belief. “If a secular nonprofit gets a discount, so should a religious one. It’s that simple. This lawsuit should be a wake-up call for companies that think they can get away with targeting Christians,” he added.
What About Cake Designers and Same-Sex Weddings
Some accuse Christian cake designers and web developers of the same type of discrimination when they refuse to create cakes or build websites to help celebrate a same-sex couple’s wedding. According to Phil Sechler, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom and director of the Center for Free Speech, the difference concerns the First Amendment.
“The biggest difference between our case against Asana and cases involving Christian website developers and cake designers who don’t want to create products for a same-sex wedding is that the sale of standard business software is not speech, Sechler explained. “Compliance with the State’s anti-discrimination law thus does not compel Asana to speak contrary to its beliefs. As the Supreme Court recognized in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, ‘there are no doubt innumerable goods and services that no one could argue implicate the First Amendment.’”
A Fight for Religious Freedom
Dr. Yuan emphasized the broader implications of the case: “Our nation was founded on the principle of the free exercise of religion—a cornerstone of our democracy. Yet some corporations, emboldened by intersectional ideology and anti-Christian sentiment, choose to unlawfully discriminate based solely on religion. This must stop. California law protects all religions from discrimination. Equal treatment is the bedrock of our society.”
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed the lawsuit, Holy Sexuality v. Asana, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The case could set a precedent for how tech companies treat religious organizations in the future.
