by Caitlyn Beebe, Juicy Ecumenism
Baylor University’s recent back-and-forth over accepting a grant funding research on LGBTQ people in the church exposed a wider issue in Christian academia. Are Christian universities compromising their commitment to traditional Christian teaching on sexuality?
Further research shows that LGBTQ-affirming ideology has influenced Christian higher education across America. Here are examples of LGBTQ-affirming programs and funding housed in historically Christian universities.
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University affiliates with the Churches of Christ and supports the traditional Christian view of marriage and gender. The undergraduate student code of conduct condemns any sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman.
Despite this, Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology promotes LGBTQ affirmation. Aliento, a Spanish-language wing of the graduate school, celebrated Pride Month with a newsletter informing readers about mental health issues faced by LGBTQ people.
The newsletter directed readers to pro-LGBTQ videos and online articles. One infographic advised friends of LGBTQ people to “do away with the stigma surrounding gender nonconformity,” to “use gender inclusive language” and to “support and validate their experience.”
Another initiative housed in Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology is the Language, Culture and Gender Lab. The lab’s research openly employs a “social justice framework” and draws from feminism and liberation psychology.
Southern Methodist University