Vanderbilt to Christian groups: Accept homosexuality or lose funding and access to campus facilities

They tried this at UNC-Chapel Hill and then backed down due to public scrutiny. But it’s clear that religious liberty in this country is ‘under assault’ in the name of discrimination:

CBN NEWS – Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University is requiring student groups on campus to comply with its policy banning discrimination against homosexuals or the transgendered, regardless of religious beliefs.

Groups that don’t comply could lose funding and access to campus facilities.

“We are committed to making our campus a welcoming environment for all of our students,” Vanderbilt told The Tennessean in a statement Monday.

The announcement comes after a gay student said he was dismissed from a Christian fraternity.

Vanderbilt’s College Republicans President Stephen Siao insisted it’s the school that’s guilty of discrimination.

According to Siao, the school has “launched an assault on religious groups on campus.”

According to this article by Carol M. Swain, professor of political science and of law at Vanderbilt University, entitled Vanderbilt flirting with religious suppression, even Bible Studies are affected:

Evangelical Christians are increasingly under attack for their biblically-based worldviews. Shortly after graduation last spring, Vanderbilt University’s Office of Religious Life quietly deferred its annual approval of several mostly conservative Christian organizations.

Groups affected included the Christian Legal Society, InterVarsity and the graduate chapter of Campus Crusade. These organizations face an uncertain future because of a new policy that prohibits religious organizations from requiring that their leaders share the same beliefs and goals of the organizations they seek to lead. The policy goes one step further by hamstringing Bible studies.

According to a letter from the acting director of the Office of Religious Life, Bible studies are suspect because they “would seem to indicate that officers are expected to hold certain beliefs.’’ The letter goes on to explain: “Vanderbilt policies do not allow this expectation/qualification for officers.’’

This is one of my big problems with making people who profess to be gay a protected class. When they gain a right, people who disagree lose a right. It’s completely unfair and ridiculous that a religious organization be banned simply because they don’t give membership to those who have chosen the gay lifestyle. Yet universities like Vanderbilt persist in the name of discrimination even though religious freedoms are clearly protected by the Constitution.

If Christians don’t have the right to exercise their faith, then they are being discriminated against. But apparently that discrimination upsets no one.


Comment Policy: Please read our comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.