DES MOINES — The University of Iowa is caught up in a legal fight with a conservative Christian student group that denied a leadership position to a student who is gay.

The case pits a university policy barring discrimination based on sexual orientation against the religious beliefs of a 10-member group called Business Leaders in Christ. The group sued after the state’s flagship university in Iowa City revoked its campus registration in November.

The group says its membership is open to everyone, but that its leaders must affirm a statement of faith that rejects homosexuality. The university says it respects the right of students, faculty, and staff to practice the religion of their choice but does not tolerate discrimination.

The group, founded in the spring of 2015 by students at the university’s Tippie College of Business, met weekly for Bible study and to conduct service projects. Its loss of registration as an on-campus student organization means it can no longer reserve campus meeting space, participate in student recruitment fairs, access funds from student activity fees, or use university-wide communication services.

A student member of Business Leaders in Christ, Marcus Miller, filed a complaint with the university last February after the group denied his request to serve as its vice president. Miller’s request was rejected after he disclosed he was gay.

ASSOCIATED PRESS