Baylor University has announced it has received a nearly $650,000 grant from a progressive foundation to help foster LGBTQ “inclusion and belonging in the church,” and many are accusing the Christian university of aligning with values that contradict the Bible.
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According to a press release from the university’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, the hefty grant was awarded to the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation gave $643,401 to researchers to help them “better understand the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations to nurture institutional courage and foster change.”
/**/The grant would fund a major study entitled, “Courage from the Margins: Inclusion and Belonging Practices for LGBTQIA+ and Women in Congregations.” Researchers would be tasked with recruiting two groups of 25 individuals from across the country (ages 18-24) to participate in confidential interviews, focus groups, and surveys to share about their experiences within their congregations.
The resulting information will be used to develop “trauma-sensitive training resources” for churches.
“This grant will focus on the lived experiences of emerging adults. It will assist us in filling out the bigger picture of congregations’ practices that result in an environment of belonging,” Dr. Gaynor Yancey, C3I director and the Lake Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Congregational and Community Health, explained in the press statement. “Through our research, we want to expand our picture of what congregations do and do not do in their caring practices with all people about their experiences of belonging.”
“Wolves in Shepherds’ Clothing”?
Critics say the work and research are deeply problematic.
For one, they cite that the Waco, Texas school describes itself as a Christian university that is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). However, they contend that the school is slowly shedding its faith-based foundation by now prioritizing LGBTQ voices.
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In writing for the Washington Times, Everett Piper, the former president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, described the institution as “wolves in shepherds’ clothing.”
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