Photo: CTV

A Christian university in the Fraser Valley will no longer require students to adhere to a covenant forbidding sex outside of heterosexual marriage.

The board of governors at Trinity Western University voted last week to make the school's "community covenant" voluntary for students this school year.

The private post-secondary institution in Langley had proposed a law school in 2012 and applied to provincial law societies for accreditation, but was denied in B.C. and Ontario because of the covenant.

In June, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that requiring a person to behave contrary to their sexual identity is "degrading and disrespectful," in two landmark decisions that said law societies have the right to deny accreditation to the proposed law school.

The high court said law societies in Ontario and B.C. were entitled to ensure equal access to the bar, support diversity and prevent harm to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students.

A university statement issued today says Trinity Western will also work to determine ways in which its Christian identity can continue to be strengthened while welcoming the unique value of each member of its diverse student body.

The legal action pitted two significant societal values — freedom of religion and promotion of equality — against one another.