Christian Group Sues OpenAI for Religious Discrimination

A Christian nonprofit organization is taking legal action against OpenAI, accusing the tech giant of engaging in outright religious discrimination. The lawsuit, filed this week in federal court, claims that OpenAI’s nonprofit policies intentionally exclude religious groups, violating California’s civil rights laws.

The group behind the suit is Holy Sexuality, a Christian ministry led by Dr. Christopher Yuan that promotes biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality. Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) a legal powerhouse that has successfully defended religious liberty in major Supreme Court cases the organization is fighting back against what it calls a “brazen” denial of equal treatment.

At the heart of the dispute is OpenAI’s nonprofit discount program, which offers a 20% price reduction for eligible nonprofit organizations. But in the fine print, OpenAI specifically excludes religious institutions from qualifying a move that Holy Sexuality and its legal team say is not just discriminatory, but illegal under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.

“The idea that corporations would discriminate against their customers solely because of their customers’ religious faith is really troubling,” said Ryan Bangert, Senior VP at ADF. “And in this case, it violates a California state law.”

The Unruh Civil Rights Act requires businesses that serve the public to treat all customers equally, regardless of religion. But according to OpenAI’s policy, religious nonprofits are flat-out ineligible for the discount while secular nonprofits get the benefit. This isn’t a misunderstanding. The policy is clear:

“At this time, academic, medical, religious, or governmental institutions are not eligible for OpenAI for Nonprofits.”

The lawsuit also names Goodstack, a third-party contractor that works with OpenAI to verify nonprofit eligibility. The suit argues that both companies enforced a policy that constitutes “invidious religious discrimination.”

Dr. Yuan, a former atheist and now a leading voice on Christian sexual ethics, put it plainly:

“Some corporations, emboldened by intersectional ideology and anti-Christian sentiment, choose to unlawfully discriminate based solely on religion. This must stop.”

This isn’t the first time Holy Sexuality has taken on Big Tech and won. Just last month, the group successfully challenged Asana, a software firm that had a similar anti-religious policy. Asana backed down and granted the group the same 50% discount it offers to secular nonprofits.

The stakes in this new case are higher. OpenAI, one of the most powerful and influential tech companies in the world, is being accused of enforcing a policy that essentially tells faith-based nonprofits they’re not welcome.

• California law explicitly prohibits religious discrimination by public businesses.

• Tech companies are not above the law, especially when they serve a wide customer base.

• Holy Sexuality is not asking for special treatment just equal access.

The lawsuit demands a court declaration that OpenAI’s policy violates the law, an injunction to halt the enforcement of the discriminatory rule, and a commitment to treat religious organizations with the same fairness afforded to any other nonprofit.

This is more than a dispute over a discount it’s a battle over whether religious Americans will be treated equally in a society increasingly dominated by secular tech giants. If this case succeeds, it could send a powerful message that faith has a place in the digital public square.

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