Religious Suppression Claimed At Vanderbilt

After reading a couple of online articles in The Tennessean and then another report on Fox it seems that this is not much ado about nothing.

According to Fox: 

Is Vanderbilt University flirting with the suppression of religion? Yes, according to Carol Swain, a professor at Vanderbilt’s Law School. Specifically, Swain is referring to four Christian student groups being placed on "provisional status" after a university review found them to be in non-compliance with the school’s nondiscrimination policy. Vanderbilt says the student organizations cannot require that leaders share the group’s beliefs, goals and values. Carried to its full extent, it means an atheist could lead a Christian group, a man a woman’s group, a Jew a Muslim group or vice versa.  To read more, click here.

According to The Tennessean:

Vanderbilt has asked “a dozen or so” student groups, including five religious ones, to come into compliance with the policy, which says the Nashville school doesn’t discriminate against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Those groups, which the university declined to identify, have been given provisional status for the time being but could ultimately lose access to Vanderbilt funding and facilities if they don’t comply.

“We are committed to making our campus a welcoming environment for all of our students,” Vanderbilt said in a statement after declining to make administrators available for interviews Monday. But members and advisers of some of the groups said they were being unfairly singled out for expecting their officers to hold certain beliefs. The Vanderbilt chapter of the Christian Legal Society has rewritten its bylaws to include language that supports the university’s diversity policies. But when Vanderbilt asked the club to remove a requirement that the group president lead Bible studies, the club drew the line.  To read more, click here.

And more from The Tennessean:

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.’’
If this policy is implemented, it will make it harder for the students to have on-campus fellowship with like-minded believers and it will make it more difficult for them to grow in or even maintain their faith while on campus. The policy sends a clear message to students: religious associations are not a valued or respected part of the university’s ideological diversity.  To read more, click here.

Universities and colleges around the country are increasingly seeking to impose secular ideology upon religious organizations under the guise of political correctness.  This is pseudo liberalism and it is threatening the whole fabric of education.  What ever happened to the free exchange of ideas?  Could it be that only certain ideas are to be tolerated?

Wanna mix it up even more???  Vanderbilt is home to Vanderbilt Divinity School -- a highly acclaimed and thoroughly liberal seminary and school of religion.  Naturally, Vanderbilt officials refused to be interviewed or questioned.  So when you put it all together, it seems that we are left with one conclusion.  Religion is good if it serves the liberal purpose and it is bad if it does not.  Therefore, religious freedom cannot be allowed if it conflicts with other freedoms that have first priority.  I wonder if this is what you learn at Vanderbilt Divinity School?  For what it is worthy, a pretty conservative Lutheran went to Vanderbilt -- namely, Concordia Theological Seminary President Larry Rast!  Of course this was long before the current dust up.  I have no doubt that Vanderbilt is a highly rated and liberal flagship school.  It ranks consistently on the upper tiers of college ratings by all sorts of magazines and reviews.  My only question is whether or not you can go to Vanderbilt and remain a Christian while you are there...  Just a cynical thought from a fellow who lives 40 minutes up the road from the campus....