Baylor University announced it will return a controversial $643,000 grant aimed at promoting “LGBTQ+” inclusion in churches after backlash from alumni, donors, and Christian commentators.
The funding, awarded to the university’s Center for Church and Community Impact within the School of Social Work, was originally intended to support research into what the university described as “disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations.”
In a message addressed to the “Baylor Family,” President Linda Livingstone said the decision to return the money came voluntarily from Dean Jon Singletary and Dr. Gaynor Yancey, the project’s lead researcher. Livingstone and Provost Nancy Brickhouse agreed with the decision, calling it “the appropriate course of action and in the best interests of Baylor University.”
While the university defended its commitment to academic freedom and to supporting all students—including LGBTQ+ students—Livingstone noted that the research project had evolved into activities that “extended into advocacy for perspectives on human sexuality that are inconsistent with Baylor’s institutional policies.”
Baylor’s “Statement on Human Sexuality” defines acceptable sexual expression as limited to “purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman.”
Livingstone’s statement follows criticism last week from Christian writer Megan Basham and others who accused the university of allowing progressive activism to take root in its academic institutions. Basham described the grant as part of an effort to train students to steer churches and ministries to conform to the demands of LGBT activists.
The grant had been awarded by the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, a group that describes itself as supporting “progressive, inclusive” Christian causes. Baylor’s original announcement said the funds would be used to help churches “create a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for everyone in their community.”
In Wednesday’s statement, Livingstone acknowledged that the situation had “caused concern and confusion for many within the Baylor Family,” and said the university would seek to ensure future research projects align with Baylor’s Christian mission and institutional processes.
While Basham said it was a win that Baylor was returning the money, she called Livingtone’s statement “appalling.”
“Nowhere in it does she reaffirm the Christian position on sexuality and marriage. Instead, it is all an appeal to the accommodation of LGBTQ ideology. And nowhere does she address faculty that are openly promoting LGBTQ affirmation in opposition to a Christian worldview. Baylor staff is openly flaunting their rebellion to God‘s Word and she has allowed this,” said Basham.
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