Vanderbilt University Promotes Religious Intolerance

I ran across a story today from Fox News Radio of all places. It is about Vanderbilt University which was first started by the Methodists years ago. Once again we see that the liberal elite agenda for our schools and our nation is not one of religious diversity or religious tolerance but instead religious bigotry and intolerance. There is a small Christian student organization on campus that applied to be a recognized club at the school. Their application was denied because one of the requirements to be a leader in this Christian club was that the leader have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Now people, how ludicrous is that? Of course a leader of a Christian student organization should have a personal commitment to Jesus. If not, then they are not qualified to lead.  Here is some of the excerpts from the story on Fox News Radio.

Vanderbilt University has informed a small Christian student organization that it will no longer be recognized as a student group because it requires its members to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, according to email correspondence provided to Fox News. “It just shows how radical the Vanderbilt administration has become in enforcing a policy that is nonsense,” said Kim Colby, senior counsel for theChristian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom. “A lot of jaws dropped when we saw how far the Vanderbilt administration was taking this.”

“They are a small group of students who want to gather together and worship God,” she said. “That’s basically all they want to do.” According to email correspondence from the university, the group’s constitution was not approved because the university took issue with a requirement that leaders have a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ.”

The original statement read: “Criteria for officer selection will include level and quality of past involvement, personal commitment to Jesus Christ, commitment to the organization, and demonstrated leadership ability.”

The university directed the group to change the statement to read: “Criteria for officer selection will include level and quality of past involvement, commitment to the organization, and demonstrated leadership ability.”

Ironically, Vanderbilt University was founded as a Methodist institution established for the purpose of practicing – among other things – theology.

Colby said the student group has decided not to comply with the university’s demands.

This is just the latest in a string of controversies over Vanderbilt’s newly revised non-discrimination policy. At least 13 Christian groups have decided to defy the ban. Two groups, including Vanderbilt Catholic, have already announced plans to leave campus rather than conform to the university’s new policies.

Source: http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/vanderbilt-tells-group-leaders-can%E2%80%99t-be-followers-of-christ.html

Is Vanderbilt University practicing religious intolerance?

I must ask the question. Does the administration of Vanderbilt University realize that a leader must believe in what he is leading people in? When it comes to a religious group, do they not have the right to practice their beliefs? The Christian religion on which Vanderbilt University was built upon, teaches that leaders need to be committed to Jesus. So by demanding that Christian groups remove that requirement is in essence demanding that they change their religious practice. This is the epitome of religious intolerance. There are no laws being broken. Vanderbilt University is not endorsing Christianity or any other religion. This is just pure and simple totalitarian control over what the students can and cannot do. You will think like us or you will be banned. That is the motto of the administration of Vanderbilt University.

My hat is off to this little student group. Instead of compromise their principles, they chose to take it off campus. I hope more parents and more donors find out what is happening at Vanderbilt University and not only take the student groups off campus, but take the students and donations off campus as well. The administration deserves a cold glass of water in the face to come back to reality. What do you think? Should an Ivy League university be practicing religious intolerance and telling students what they can and cannot require of leaders of their student organizations? What should be the student’s and parents reactions be? I want to hear from you. You heard my opinion, now let’s hear yours! Leave me a comment!

Blessings!

Pastor Duke