Can An Organization Be “Christian” At Vanderbilt?

It has been a little over fifteen years since the proud day that I graduated from Vanderbilt University.  My four years there were both challenging and enriching and provided me with concepts and experiences that have benefitted me ever since.  As I write this, however, I find myself deeply troubled by a controversy that is currently brewing on Vanderbilt’s campus.  The controversy revolves around a decision, made by Vanderbilt’s Office of Religious Life, to place several campus organizations on “probation”*.  The probation came as organizations such as Graduate Christian Fellowship (a division of Campus Crusade for Christ), the Christian Legal Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes were informed that they could lose their ability to conduct activities on the campus unless they alter their constitutions in such a way as to bring them in compliance with the university’s  nondiscrimination policy. 

How have these organizations run afoul of the interests of nondiscrimination?  The campus newspaper reports that, “The noncompliance issue is the same for all three groups. Each group’s constitution contains a clause which restricts leadership positions to individuals who share the group’s core religious beliefs.”** This is shocking indeed!  Who would have thought that a Christian campus organization dedicated to biblical traditions and teachings would want to restrict leadership in their organization to … Christians!  Associate Dean Patricia Helland said that the university administration initially instructed all of the organizations to remove the offending articles from their constitutions.  Then they were confronted with an amazing alternative point of view.  Ms. Helland relates that “People have come back to us and said ‘what do you mean? This is faith based. This is our values. If we change that, we are not who we are’, so what we’ve done is we’ve listened … We are looking at what all the issues are to make a decision.” *** Apparently, it had never occurred to the brilliant educators and administrators at Vanderbilt that having Buddhists, Hindus or atheists in charge of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes might actually cause people to question whether it really was Christian in any meaningful way.  In all seriousness, it is hard to believe that anyone could be so oblivious on such an obvious point.  Several members of the U.S. Congress seem to share my incredulity.  Earlier this week, the congressional caucus on prayer sent a message to Vanderbilt’s President pointing out that, “Selecting leaders that best represent a student organization’s mission is not discrimination; it is common sense.”**

It appears that common sense is in precious supply on the campus of my beloved alma mater … or perhaps there is something a tad more insidious going on here.  It seems likely to me that the school is much more troubled by the mission of these groups than that they are by their organization.  I say that because there is a reason that Vanderbilt, a university that is almost 200 years old, has suddenly become so concerned about the organizing documents of on campus religious organizations.  The university began reviewing the constitutions of all such organizations at the beginning of the year, after allegations surfaced last November that Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX), a Christian fraternity on campus, asked an openly gay member to resign due to his sexual orientation.  The administration appears to favor a campus climate in which no distinctively biblical judgments can be made on such issues … even in private and voluntary religious organizations.  Professor Carol Swain who teaches political science and law at Vandy shares my concern when she writes, “Evangelical Christians are increasingly under attack for their biblically-based worldviews … Universities and colleges around the country are increasingly seeking to impose secular ideology upon religious organizations under the guise of political correctness.”****  In short, there may come a day in which we have to proclaim the gospel to college campuses without being allowed on college campuses.

* The probation is officially called “being given provisional status”.  This means that they can still carry on normal activities while their ultimate fate is being decided.
** http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/18192
*** http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/9238
**** http://www.carolmswain.net/2011/09/vanderbilt-universitys-dangerous-flirtation-with-religious-suppression/