Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has successfully reached a settlement with San Francisco-based tech company Asana on behalf of a Christian nonprofit that was denied access to a discount program based on its religious status. The case highlights the intersection of corporate policies, religious liberty protections, and California’s civil rights laws.
Case Resolved Through Settlement
In a settlement announced on April 17, 2025, Asana agreed to provide Holy Sexuality with the 50 percent nonprofit discount it offers to other nonprofits. Additionally, as part of the settlement agreement, Asana has removed the religious discrimination language from its policy and website.
“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 in a statement about the settlement. “Asana did the right thing by quickly reversing course, agreeing to give Holy Sexuality the discount it offers other nonprofits, and eliminating its discriminatory policy.”
Following the settlement, ADF attorneys filed a stipulated dismissal of the case, Holy Sexuality v. Asana, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where the lawsuit had been pending since February 2025.
Background of the Dispute
In December 2024, Dr. Christopher Yuan applied for Asana’s standard 50 percent nonprofit discount for his organization, Holy Sexuality. The organization, founded in March 2023, produces educational resources about human sexuality from a Christian perspective, including a twelve-lesson video curriculum.
According to court documents, Asana initially denied the application, citing its policy that explicitly excluded “[r]eligious organizations that exist to solely propagate a belief in a specific faith” from receiving the nonprofit discount. The policy was published on Asana’s website, making it a formal company position rather than an isolated incident.
“Our nation was founded on the principle of the free exercise of religion—a cornerstone of our democracy,” Dr. Yuan said in a statement about the case. “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.”
Legal Challenge Based on California’s Civil Rights Law
Alliance Defending Freedom, working alongside co-counsel Robert J. Reynolds, filed the lawsuit in February 2025. The legal challenge centered on California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers based on religion.
The legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom argued that Holy Sexuality met all other requirements for the nonprofit discount program but was excluded solely because of its religious nature. This selective application of benefits to secular nonprofits while excluding religious ones constituted illegal discrimination under state law, according to the complaint.
Broader Implications
This case represented a significant test of how anti-discrimination laws apply to corporate discount programs that explicitly exclude religious organizations from benefits offered to other nonprofits. With the settlement, Asana has revised its policy to be more inclusive of faith-based organizations.
In a statement to Fox News regarding the resolution, an Asana spokesperson noted that its nonprofit discount program has “helped more than 15,000 mission-driven organizations carry out their work in support of their communities—including a wide variety of faith-based organizations.” The company confirmed that “going forward we will provide the discount to any qualifying nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) designation, as determined by the IRS.”
Dr. Yuan expressed gratitude for the outcome: “We are grateful for this victory and hope it serves to remind other companies that California law protects all religions from discrimination. Equal treatment is the bedrock of our society.”
Background of Holy Sexuality’s Founder
As noted in ADF’s case materials, Dr. Yuan’s personal journey figures prominently in the case background. According to the original lawsuit documentation, Dr. Yuan experienced a significant life transformation that led him to his current ministry work. As described in ADF’s article about the case, he was “delivered from a life of homosexuality, and even drug dealing which led to years in prison,” after which he converted to Christianity and became an educator, author, and speaker.
As stated in multiple sources about the case, Dr. Yuan founded Holy Sexuality in March 2023 to create educational content about biblical teachings. The organization’s mission, as described in court filings, is to provide resources for families to understand human sexuality from a Christian perspective through its twelve-lesson video curriculum called “The Holy Sexuality Project.”
Alliance Defending Freedom’s successful resolution of this case aligns with its broader mission as a legal advocacy organization focused on religious liberty cases. The nonprofit legal organization has a history of representing religious clients in disputes involving alleged discrimination.