Vanderbilt flirting with Religious Suppression

[bobbyw24]

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.’’

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...us-suppression

[reillym]

Please, give me a break. If a college group wants to maintain connection to and get funds from its college administration, it cannot discriminate against students who want to join.

his hastily conceived policy has the potential to destroy every religious organization on campus by secularizing religion and allowing intolerant conflict. Carried to its logical extension, it means that no organization can maintain integrity of beliefs. Christians can seek to lead Muslim organizations, Muslims can seek to lead Jewish ones, and Wiccans can seek to lead Catholic fellowships. The policy encourages people holding antithetical views to infiltrate organizations they seek to destroy.

aha, this "journalist" destroys her own argument right here. It's not about discrimination, its about maintaining a radical Christian group on campus that separates itself from regular students. If somebody wanted to "destroy" a group, they could simply lie and say they believed in god, or some other equally ridiculous fairy in the sky.

Non-story here, move on.

[jmdrake]

+rep. Good find bobby. What "hatheists" seem to miss is that an attack on Bible studies is an attack on freedom of speech. Say if Young Americans for Liberty weren't allowed to read passages from Ayn Rand for fear it might offend non-libertarians? Anyway, at some point Christians could decide to fight another way. Instead of having a Christian group, take over one of the secular groups.

[erowe1]

Please, give me a break. If a college group wants to maintain connection to and get funds from its college administration, it cannot discriminate against students who want to join.



aha, this "journalist" destroys her own argument right here. It's not about discrimination, its about maintaining a radical Christian group on campus that separates itself from regular students. If somebody wanted to "destroy" a group, they could simply lie and say they believed in god, or some other equally ridiculous fairy in the sky.

Non-story here, move on.

So Christian students are forced to pay student dues to fund all these pro-gay, pro-feminist, pro-socialism, pro-environmentalism, and so on groups. But they can't have a pro-Jesus group?

[bobbyw24]

+rep. Good find bobby. What "hatheists" seem to miss is that an attack on Bible studies is an attack on freedom of speech. Say if Young Americans for Liberty weren't allowed to read passages from Ayn Rand for fear it might offend non-libertarians? Anyway, at some point Christians could decide to fight another way. Instead of having a Christian group, take over one of the secular groups.

Bump that