You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University has become the second Christian college to quit the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities because two of that group's members have changed their policies to allow for the hiring of gay faculty members who are married or who are celibate. A statement from Oklahoma Wesleyan's president, Everett Piper, said: “Oklahoma Wesleyan has determined it is not in the university’s best interest to continue to affiliate with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. CCCU’s ambivalence in deciding the status of two member institutions that have advised CCCU they will permit same-sex couples to be employed as faculty members indicates to us that it is time for our university to move in a different direction. We believe in missional clarity and view the defense of the biblical definition of marriage as an issue of critical importance to Christian colleges. The CCCU’s reluctance to make a swift decision sends a message of confusion rather than conviction.”
Eastern Mennonite University and Goshen College in July announced policies that would permit the hiring of some gay faculty members, and that decision has upset many other members of the CCCU. Union University, in Tennessee, last month announced it was leaving the CCCU as a result of its failure to kick out Eastern Mennonite and Goshen.
The Christian college group has said that it is consulting with all of its members about what to do. That process is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 21.
