VANDERBILT SOLIDARITY STATEMENT
April 9, 2012 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: JUSTIN GUNTER (601) 528-4339 or PIETER VALK (423) 914-6258 or Justin.P.Gunter@Vanderbilt.edu
Vanderbilt Solidarity Issues Statement in Opposition to University Policy Undermining Religious Freedom
NASHVILLE - This year, Vanderbilt University has for the first time in its history demanded that our religious student organizations leave campus simply because we insist that our leaders agree with and strive to live by the religious beliefs we espouse. Today, we—the members of eleven such groups, standing together in an act of Solidarity—have submitted applications for registered status with constitutions containing the same faith requirements that Vanderbilt has always approved, until last year.
Each of our eleven organizations is a faith-based group dedicated to sharing the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on campus. As such, we simply cannot allow those who do not share our faith to lead our ministries, as Vanderbilt now demands. To do so would not only compromise our very reason for existence, it would also violate the central tenets of our faith. In standing together, the Solidarity groups commend Vanderbilt Catholic’s recent announcement that it will leave campus rather than surrender its right to have leaders who share its faith. The St. Thomas More Society has indicated its intention to follow the course charted by Vanderbilt Catholic, and Solidarity also commends its integrity.
For decades, Vanderbilt acknowledged what most Americans hold to be self-evident: a faith-based organization cannot be properly led by people who do not profess the group’s faith. Until recently, Vanderbilt explicitly protected the freedom of all student organizations to select members and leaders who shared and supported the group’s purpose, including—for religious groups—its faith.
Most perplexing, a university founded by Methodists is prohibiting religious groups from selecting religious leaders while simultaneously allowing fraternities and sororities to discriminate in selecting their leaders and members. If Vanderbilt will give fraternities and sororities a broad exemption from its policy, why won’t it give religious groups a narrow exemption?
We urge Vanderbilt to respect our religious freedom, which—as Congress and the Supreme Court have repeatedly emphasized—protects our right to select leaders and members who agree with our respective faith traditions.
Even while taking this action, we—the religious students and ministries represented by Solidarity—continue to pray that our much beloved University will change course; that it will again welcome students who take their faith seriously; and that it will once again live up to the values of true diversity, pluralism, and religious freedom that it claims to respect. But regardless of whether the administration changes, our mission and commitment remain the same: to serve Jesus Christ faithfully, to minister to the Vanderbilt community in His name with integrity, and to share His love and grace in everything we do.
Vanderbilt Solidarity is comprised of the following campus groups: Asian American Christian Fellowship, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Cru, Medical Christian Fellowship, Navigators, Graduate Christian Fellowship, Bridges International, Lutheran Student Fellowship, Every Nation Ministries, Beta Upsilon Chi, and Christian Legal Society.