Openly gay students at Christian universities might be a somewhat shocking notion to some, but gay students who are actively battling for gay rights at Christian universities is perhaps jaw-dropping for others.
The New York Times is reporting that scores of Bible colleges and evangelical Christian universities are home to a growing gay rights movement on campus. Apparently, gays and lesbians are coming out of the Christian closet and rejecting notions that they should seek help with same-sex gender issues.
Most college administrators are not embracing the movement with open arms, denying campus recognition of clubs oriented toward gays and lesbians, the Times reports, but others are allowing gay student groups. Baylor University is one that does not allow gay clubs, while Belmont University does.
“Baylor expects students not to participate in advocacy groups promoting an understanding of sexuality that is contrary to biblical teaching,” Lori Fogleman, a spokeswoman for Baylor University, told the Times.
Of course, that’s not stopping gay Christian university students from forming off-campus groups, though.
“Gay students say they are often asked why they are attending Christian colleges at all. But the question, students say, is unfair,” Times reporter Erik Eckholm writes. “Many were raised in intensely Christian homes with an expectation of attending a religious college and long fought their homosexuality.”