The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) is reviewing its relationship with Baylor University after the school hosted “All Are Neighbors,” an event featuring LGBT activists and anti-ICE protestors.
It’s not the first time Baylor has seen controversy over its engagement with LGBT ideology.
Speakers at the event included Kelley Robinson, the queer-identified president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT activist group in the U.S.
Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush also spoke at the event. He described himself as a Baptist minister and “a gay man who has been with my husband for 25 years and married to him for as long as that has been legal in this country.”
The Rev. Susan Hayward, who “studied Buddhism in Nepal and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ,” was also a featured guest.
The left-leaning Baptist News Global called it a “historic first,” saying:
This is believed to be the first time Baylor has allowed an openly gay Christian advocacy speaker on campus for such an event. …
This sudden turn of events answers the pleas of LGBTQ students, faculty, staff and alumni who have sought equal representation on campus for years. The university has denied a platform for LGBTQ Christians because of its Statement on Human Sexuality that labels same-sex relations sinful.
In response, the BGCT, commonly known as Texas Baptists, announced it is studying its relationship with the school.
Baylor, the largest Baptist university in the world, was founded by the Baptist association that grew into the BGCT. The organization has over 2 million members and more than 5,300 congregations. Although the school is not controlled by the Texas Baptists, they have an ongoing relationship where the BGCT provides some funding for the school and elects 25% of the school’s regents.
BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri explained his concerns in a letter:
As executive director, I agree that hosting speakers who are Christian, identify as gay, and practice LGBTQ+ advocacy at a university-approved event is inconsistent with the convention’s long-standing views on biblical sexuality.
Guarneri said he would ask the organization’s executive board to “to initiate a study of our relationship with Baylor through our Institutional Relations Committee,” adding that he had also “heard similar concerns from some Texas Baptists about Baylor’s hosting of the TPUSA event.”
Both events took place on campus on April 22. Baylor Lariat, the school’s student paper, reported that the TPUSA event, part of the national “This is the Turning Point Tour,” featured Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, “Border Czar” Tom Homan and political commentator Benny Johnson.
TPUSA topics included the rise in faith among young men, securing the border from illegal immigrants and the influence of Christianity in American culture.
All Are Neighbors was approved by Baylor about a month after the TPUSA event. The opposing gathering was sponsored by Baylor’s College Democrats, the NAACP, Students Demand Action, Hearts for the Homeless and Texas Rising.
The Lariat noted the contrast between audiences at the two rallies, describing “an older crowd” at All Are Neighbors:
While students dominated the TPUSA crowd Wednesday evening, All Are Neighbors drew predominantly faculty, staff and members of the Waco community in addition to the students in attendance.
The student news outlet showed images of attendees holding signs like “Jesus Saves, Ice Kills” and “Stand Against Ice.”
After first describing the young children she and her lesbian partner are raising without a dad, Robinson aired her political grievances:
There’s nothing ordinary about politicians threatening our trans community just to gain political points. There’s nothing ordinary about books being banned, about history being erased, about voices being silenced.
Robinson was bemoaning efforts to protect female athletes from males in their sports, locker rooms and restrooms. She was decrying work to protect children from being sexualized by inappropriate books and curricula. And she was railing against attempts to remove racist diversity, equity and inclusion policies and critical race theory from public schools.
Baylor received criticism for launching an “LGBTQ+ and Allies” student organization, Prism, in 2022. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler criticized this shift from biblical teaching, saying:
[T]he moment you allow an officially recognized chartered student group identified with LGBTQ identity, then you’re basically saying that that identity has a legitimate place within the university or the college. …
Once you accept that identity as an official student group, that means you are basically recruiting students who share that identity.
The university also came under fire last year for accepting a $643 thousand dollar grant to foster LGBT “inclusion and belonging in the church.” After receiving criticism, Baylor rescinded the grant.
MinistryWatch, an organization which works to ensure accountability and transparency in Christian ministries, quoted a statement from university leadership about this most recent controversy, saying it was “committed to ensuring open dialogue and the robust exchange of ideas and perspectives” and it did not “institutionally endorse the views of speakers at these events or other individuals invited to speak by student organizations.”
Related articles and resources:
Baptist Baylor University Accepts Large Donation for LGBT Inclusion
Baylor University Announces New Group for ‘LGBTQ+ Students on Campus’
Baylor University Officially Launches ‘LGBTQ+ and Allies’ Student Organization
Baylor University Rescinds LGBT Inclusion Grant, But Problems Remain
