Gay students struggle for acceptance at evangelical schools

The New York Times [subscription may be required] has an article exploring how gay and lesbian students are struggling for acceptance at various evangelical Christian colleges and universities that see homosexual practice as a sin. The students want to be open about their sexual identity and to be able to form campus clubs. The schools often oppose such moves. The article draws examples from Baylor University, Belmont University, Abilene Christian University, Harding University, and North Central University (in Minneapolis).

A “constructive engagement” between evangelicals and science

Inside Higher Ed reports on a session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science entitled “Evangelicals, Science, and Policy: Toward a Constructive Engagement.”

The session’s précis reads:

Evangelical Christians constitute approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population, and their influence on public policy is considerable. As a community with major concerns regarding science, ethics, and national priorities, its impact on science policy has been particularly significant, as in the case of stem cell research. Around such controversial issues, communication between science and evangelical Christianity has been hampered by limited appreciation of both the scientific facts and each others’ concerns. On the other hand, new models of positive engagement between these communities around global issues such as climate change is encouraging awareness and leading to science policies that benefit both science and society as a whole. As science progresses in other disciplines, evangelicals will continue to play a significant role, but their positions on many of these issues have not yet been fully formed. The opportunity thus exists to anticipate concerns and to develop a positive understanding that will benefit scientific advancement. One example is neuroscience, which has implications for both policy-making and religious understanding. Speakers will discuss their experiences with stem cell and climate change policy and explore how these experiences can inform engagement between the scientific and evangelical communities to benefit policies relating both to neuroscience and to science more generally.

Three papers were presented:

James Childress, University of Virginia
Evangelical Christians and Stem Cell Research Policy

James McCarthy, Harvard University
The Scientists and Evangelicals Initiative: Partnering To Protect the Environment

William Newsome, Stanford University School of Medicine
Neuroscience and Evangelical Christianity: Anticipating and Alleviating Concerns

Inside Higher Ed provides an overview and background, together with a number of useful links.

This piece could set the stage for a wide-ranging faculty discussion.

Belmont recognizes gay group

Belmont University has officially recognized Bridge Builders, a group that aims to explore the intersection of Christian faith and LGBT related issues, after having previously denied it official status. The reversal follows a long dispute over the dismissal of a lesbian coach in December. For more detail, see the report in Belmont student newspaper.

[The Tennessean via Inside Higher Ed]

Harding U. blocks access to website about gay students, alums

Harding University, an institution primarily related to the “fellowship of the churches of Christ,” has blocked access to a website about gay students and alums at Harding. After the decision was reported in the Arkansas Times, the University issued a statement explaining its decision to block access to the website, which it considered to be an online version of an anonymous pamphlet that violated the University’s mission and policies.

The student handbook states that the university holds to the biblical principle that sexual relationships are unacceptable to God outside the context of marriage and that sexual immorality in any form will result in suspension from the university.

Based on that policy, university administrators felt that having this website available on campus goes against said mission and policies.

[A blog at The Arkansas Times via Inside Higher Ed]

Gay alumni prompt discussion on how Westmont College treats its gay students

An open letter from 31 gay and lesbian alumni describing their “doubt, loneliness and fear” while they were students at Westmont College has prompted debate and discussion on campus. Westmont, a college near Santa Barbara, CA, bars “homosexual practice.” More than 100 fellow alums signed on in support of the open letter, and 50 of Westmont’s 92 faculty have asked for “forgiveness for ways we might have added to your pain.” The article offers reaction and background to the ongoing discussion.

[Los Angeles Times via Inside Higher Ed]

Baylor Board: 25% may be non-Baptist Christians

Inside Higher Ed’s Scott Jaschik reports on the decision by the Baylor University Board to allow up to 25 percent of its membership to be non-Baptist Christian. The change was opposed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. There will be some limits on the non-Baptist regents:

As the Board of Regents gains some non-Baptist members, it will permit only Baptist members to vote on any future changes in rules about the religious qualifications of board members, and about any theological issues related to Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

Baptists make up the largest denomination in the student body, but but still far less than half. The article could easily serve as setup for discussions about religious identity and market forces. Jaschik offers a range of reactions to the decision and its possible implications for the university’s identity.

Hope College’s board issues new statement on sexuality

Inside Higher Ed reports on a new statement on sexuality issued by Hope College’s board. The new statement grew out of the college’s controversial decision last year to block an appearance on campus of Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter for the film Milk and an advocate for gay rights. A key excerpt from the statement upholds the scholarly examination and discussion of human sexuality:

Hope College promotes the indispensable value of intellectual freedom and recognizes that there are Christians who take scripture seriously and hold other views. Hope College affirms the scholarly examination and discussion of all issues surrounding human sexuality even if they differ from the institutional position. The College provides safe places for the Hope community to discuss issues of human sexuality as well as educational programming on a variety of human sexuality issues.

As Insider Higher Ed reports,

While the new board statement affirms the right of professors to examine issues of sexuality, it is not clear that student groups could invite someone like Black to appear on campus. The board statement says: "Sexuality, including longing and expression, is a good gift from God and a fact of our existence affirmed in the Christian scriptures and by the Church throughout the centuries. This biblical witness calls us to a life of chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman…. Accordingly, Hope College will not recognize or support campus groups whose aim by statement, practice, or intimation is to promote a vision of human sexuality that is contrary to this understanding of biblical teaching."

Belmont U. adds sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination policy

Inside Higher Ed’s Scott Jaschik reports that after considerable controversy regarding the dismissal of a lesbian coach, the board of Belmont University in Nashville, TN, has officially barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The university also “added a new preamble to its anti-bias policy stating that Belmont is a Christian university and that the university strives ‘to uphold Christian standards of morality, ethics and conduct.’”

See the article for background, details, and additional links.

Belmont University in TN Won’t Recognize Gay Student Group But is Sponsoring Discussions

 

Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 reports that two year’s effort to establish a gay support group at Belmont University, a “student-centered Christian community,” has garnered student support but has been stymied by University administration. Instead, the administration has sponsored discussion groups on the issues.

The Belmont administration’s explanation, given in a statement to NewsChannel 5, reads:

Recognizing the importance of mutual respect and diverse opinions from Christian perspectives and the challenges of cultivating such informal dialog on these issues, the university chose not to meet their request, but to create a university-led opportunity for this discussion. Beginning last spring, a university sponsored discussion group on these issues has convened twice monthly and expects to continue for the duration of this academic year.

Some students have lunched a petition drive in support of the proposed group.

[Nashville, Tennessee’s News Channel 5 via Inside Higher Ed]

Hope College maintains its policy regarding gays

The board of trustees of Hope College has reaffirmed its 1995 policy that condemns homosexual acts and “gay advocacy” but supports “fair and kind treatment for people with a homosexual orientation.” The board action was in response to a petition from alums, students, and community groups asking the board to rescind the policy. The petition followed a fall 2009 decision to limit a campus appearance by Dustin Lance Black, screenwriter for the Academy-Award winning film Milk about the gay activist Harvey Milk.

In a written statement the board explained its decision:

“The college’s current position on homosexuality is based on its interpretation of scripture. It is recognized that well-intentioned Christians may disagree on scriptural interpretation. Still, humbly and respectfully, the college aligns itself in its interpretation with its founding denomination, the Reformed Church in America, the orthodox Christian Church throughout the ages, and other Christian colleges and universities.”

The board did create a trustee committee to “expand the college’s 1995 position statement in the larger context of all human sexuality.”

[The Holland Sentinel via Insider Higher Ed]