Eastern University Changes Its HR Policy

It's still a Christian University

News broke this week that Eastern University, an American Baptist Christian University in St. David, PA (outside of Philadelphia) had changed its policy prohibiting LGBTQ+ as members of the faculty and staff. I had heard that this had been under consideration for awhile, with the actual decision coming late in the 2021-2022 academic year. As Yonat Shimron wrote in Religion News Service on Monday and as a result of this change in policy, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) had put Eastern’s membership “on haitus” for the current academic year. In Inside Higher Education, Colleen Faherty’s story had a subhead that read “Eastern University says it will now hire LGBTQ employees, risking its membership in prominent group for Christian colleges.”¹

Here’s how Messiah College historian John Fea put it in his newsletter yesterday:

Eastern University, the school that has brought you, at one time or another, Ronald Sider (seminary faculty), Tony Campolo (faculty), Shane Claiborne (graduate), Brian Stevenson (graduate), Roberta Hestenes (president), Wilson Goode (faculty), Peter Enns (faculty), Allen Guelzo (faculty), and Doug Mastriano (graduate), is no longer listed as a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

Maybe I wouldn’t have put Mastriano on the list, but I have two long-term friends who are/were part of the Eastern Sociology faculty. The last time I was there was because they hosted a conference for Christian sociologists.

Back in the spring of 2016, I presented a paper at the North Central Sociological Association meetings focused on the CCCU crisis from the year before when Goshen and Eastern Mennonite took the step that Eastern has now taken. At the time, much more conservative schools (Union and Oklahoma Wesleyan) wanted those schools removed from CCCU membership and were displeased that the CCCU was taking time to discern the best path forward. As it turned out, all four schools (plus some others) left the CCCU; but they never left their faith commitments.

The sociological part of my presentation was to explore the challenge that diversity of religious and social perspectives, even among denominations and Christian universities, presented for an umbrella organization like the CCCU. What happens when denominations like the Mennonites, or the PCUSA, or the United Methodists change their official position?² Relatedly, what authority does a voluntary association like the CCCU exercise over its members? What is the impact, if any, of losing the certification by the associational body?³

Back in 2015, the CCCU had conversations at the Board level on how to respond to the Goshen/Eastern Mennonite problem. I looked at the CCCU criteria for membership to see how Eastern University fell outside their guidelines. The criteria for membership require an institution to be accredited, have a liberal arts curriculum (with other undergraduate and graduate programs), operate with financial integrity, and require employees to have a professed faith in Jesus Christ. But the CCCU also has a section of its membership application that it calls Christian Distinctives and Advocacy:

The CCCU has a robust, necessary, and increasingly important advocacy role within the public square. Historic Christian beliefs and practices often intersect with current governmental interests and regulation. These Christian beliefs and practices guide the CCCU advocacy positions—as decided by the Board of Directors—to be in the best interest of advancing Christian higher education in the public square. These advocacy positions change over time, but they currently include positions such as:

a. We hold the Christian belief that the Earth and the entire universe are God’s good creation. We advocate for the sustainability and preservation of the Earth.

b. We hold the Christian belief that human beings, male and female, are created in the image of God to flourish in community, and, as to intimate sexual relations, they are intended for persons in a marriage between one man and one woman. We advocate for the right of Christian institutions to maintain practices that align with this sexual ethic.

c. We hold the Christian belief that all human beings, without exception, are invested with inherent worth and dignity. We advocate for the wellbeing of the underserved and marginalized, for the protection of people of all faiths from religious persecution, and for the preservation and advancement of religious freedoms.

d. We hold the Christian belief that the Gospel calls us toward reconciliation with one another. We advocate for humble and courageous action that honors the unity of the human race, values ethnic and cultural diversity, and addresses the injustices of racism.

CCCU Governing and Associate members voluntarily agree to align as institutions with these advocacy positions. In addition, the Council’s own services, advocacy, employment practices, and student programs will be consistent with these alignments and Christian beliefs and principles.

First of all, I wonder how many institutions know of these Advocacy Positions (faculty and staff certainly do not). Second, I’m skeptical that Christian Universities currently on a tear about CRT and structural racism would have their membership put on hiatus for violating (d) above. Third, it’s not clear how an institution would navigate its intent to shift positions. Fourth, I don’t know what the CCCU means in suggesting that “advocacy positions could change over time.” When and How? With what input?

Here’s another thing. Because I got interested in this back in 2015 over that controversy, I’ve been following these issues pretty closely. So I used the Wayback Machine for the first time and looked up a webpage on CCCU membership from 2014. Back before the Goshen/EMU crisis, all that was required was accreditation, a breakdown of general education and curriculum, a mission statement, and a commitment to hire faculty and staff who are Christians. There were no “advocacy positions”.

I went to Eastern University’s employment page and looked at faculty job openings (they are looking for a criminal justice professor). Here’s what they say about the expected faith commitment of applicants:

Eastern University is a Christian university of the arts and sciences that integrates faith, reason and justice for students in its undergraduate, graduate, Seminary, urban, professional and international programs. Applicants should have a religious commitment compatible with its mission and be willing to endorse by signing Eastern University’s doctrinal statement.

To be fair, the Inside Higher Ed story quotes a CCCU spokesperson saying she “respects the decision made for the mission and values they represent.” It does leave open the question of what will happen to the next CCCU university that follows Eastern and the one after that and the one after that. As I’ve often written, there are pressures for change on LGBTQ policy (within the bonds of marriage) coming from current students, alums, and faculty and staff. These pressures show no sign of lessening in the next few years.

It’s worth mentioning that all of this is happening as the Senate prepares to pass the Respect For Marriage act, codifying the Obergefell decision on same-sex marriage. The cloture vote to end debate passed 62-36 which portends final passage in coming days. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints issued a statement yesterday endorsing the passage of the law (while holding to traditional values within the church).⁴

These are complex issues exacerbated by generational and hermeneutical conflicts. One thing is sure. They aren’t going away and Christian Universities will continue to struggle with their commitment to mission and core values while navigating these challenging days.

1. There are benefits to membership: participation in shared student programs and in the organization-wide tuition remission program that allows children of faculty and staff to attend other Christian Universities as if it were their home institution.

2. There are no CCCU schools sponsored by the UMC. Whitworth and Sterling have roots in the PCUSA.

3. Over thirty-five years ago, my dissertation was on people who regularly attend church and never join. It made problematize the whole idea of membership as a means of controlling individual behavior. If the church needs/wants those people in the pews, can they afford to pull the plug on them?

4. The CCCU was quite active in its support of the Fairness for All act which could have been advanced during Republican control of Congress but wasn’t.