She was called a ‘Puritan’ when she sued over religious accommodations. Now her lawsuit has set the stage for a new Utah law.

Christina Axson sued the University of Utah in 2000, and her settlement required the school to create a first-in-the-nation policy. Now that will be the standard under HB204.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Christina Axson, a woman who filed a lawsuit in 2000 as a theater student at the University of Utah that resulted in a religious accommodations policy, is pictured during an interview in Midvale on Monday, March 30, 2026.