Axson-Flynn's attorneys contend she was treated differently than other students because she is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"This whole case is really just about religious tolerance," attorney Brad Parker said. "The tensions in this case come because Christie is a member of the majority religion in this state."

Tuesday's ruling is the first of its kind in which a student's rights to freedom of speech and of religion in an academic program have been upheld, said Michael Paulsen, another Axson-Flynn attorney.

Parker agreed. "It really does set a precedent and a standard around the country. It presses an issue, or the fringes of an issue, that hasn't been addressed. This has implications far beyond Utah and far beyond even the Western states."

Attorneys for the U. agree the decision is precedent-setting, but for very different reasons.

"We agree that this is a landmark decision because it upholds the university's right to create its own curriculum in accordance with best practices in the education industry," Balmanno said.

As long as decisions are made are "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns," the 10th Circuit said courts should not become involved. It is only when those decisions become a "substantial departure from accepted academic norms" that judges should override an educator's judgment, the opinion states.

"This whole decision stands for the proposition that professors and universities can decide how to structure their program and that the students do not get to question that," Balmanno said. "There is nothing in here which recognizes a student's right to dictate the curriculum."

Axson-Flynn said she never set out to change any aspect of the program's curriculum.

"I'm not suggesting any sort of (religious) filter. I have no desire to change anyone else," she said. "Me telling someone that they would have to change and not say the words that I don't say is as ridiculous as them saying, 'You have to change and say the words we say.' "

Axson-Flynn's lawsuit claims other students in the program received exceptions for religious reasons, such as a male Jewish student who was allowed to miss a class exercise on Yom Kippur without consequence.

On Wednesday, the university released a statement supporting its theater department and the nationally ranked Actor Training Program.

"The university is committed to treating all of its students with dignity and respect regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds," the statement reads. "Axson-Flynn was treated consistently with this commitment. The university stands firmly behind the theater department and its excellent faculty and is confident that the final result will vindicate them."

The now 24-year-old mother said she would like to eventually finish her studies at the U. For now, however, she said she continues to pursue an issue that she believes surpasses her personal experiences.

"This is for my daughter, this is for everyone at the University of Utah, this is for a junior high school student who is right now aspiring to be an actor and has morals that she thinks she cannot compromise," she said. "This is for her, so that she can go to the University of Utah and so that she can get an education in the way that she wants to and she can get an education in the way that she would like to. This is for me, this is for all of us."

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com