A sign of Baylor University is seen on South University Parks Drive in Waco, Texas, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)
Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer
Baylor University approved two gay Christian advocates to speak on campus this month as part of a student-led counter event to a Turning Point USA tour stop planned for the same day.
The speakers include Kelley Robinson, a Catholic and president of LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, and Paul Raushenbush, a Baptist minister and president of social justice nonprofit Interfaith Alliance.
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The private Christian university in Waco has long denounced same-sex relationships and affirmed its stance that marriage between a man and a woman is the “biblical norm.” The school’s policies state that while it welcomes all students to campus, it expects they “will not participate in advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching.”
Baylor University did not charter an LGBTQ student group until 2022, and school officials recently returned a research grant to study the exclusion of LGBTQ individuals and women from churches, citing concerns about the work’s alignment with Baylor’s policies.
Robinson and Raushenbush will speak at “All Are Neighbors,” an April 22 event that student organizers, including the College Democrats of Baylor, Baylor’s NAACP chapter and Texas Rising, say will serve as a celebration of religious and political diversity and inclusivity on campus.
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The event was planned as an alternative to conservative youth organization Turning Point USA’s “This is the Turning Point” tour, which will stop at Baylor’s campus on the same day. Speakers at the Turning Point USA event, which will be hosted by the school’s chapter, include Donald Trump Jr., border czar Tom Homan and political commentator Benny Johnson.
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Hanna Al-Hayek, a Baylor senior and organizer of “All Are Neighbors,” said the student groups intend to provide “a different space for all students who otherwise wouldn’t feel welcomed and supported” at the Turning Point USA event.
Robinson will talk about advocacy as a spiritual and moral imperative, while Raushenbush will cover “love and joy as a tool for inclusive religious freedom and resilient democracy” and lead an interactive storytelling activity, Al-Hayek said.
News of the event has drawn “strong concerns” from some Texas Baptists, according to the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which is composed of the state’s congregations and institutions.
“At this time, we are working with University leadership to gather additional information, convey the seriousness of the concerns being shared, and consider an appropriate course of action,” a Friday statement from the group read. “We value our longstanding partnership with Baylor University and remain wholly committed to our long-held view of Biblical sexuality as we equip churches to be faithful to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.”
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In a statement Monday, a Baylor spokesperson said the school is “committed to ensuring open dialogue and the robust exchange of ideas and perspectives.”
“Historically, Baylor has opened its doors to a wide range of student-invited speakers with differing viewpoints on theology, politics, research and many other subjects as we prepare our students for a challenging, diverse world post-graduation,” said Lori Fogleman, assistant vice president of media and public relations.
The school has previously hosted LGBTQ speakers, including Christian author and advocate Justin Lee in 2019.
Baylor does not “institutionally endorse the views of speakers at these events,” Fogleman said, adding that the university worked with student organizations hosting both events to “align their events with institutional policies and procedures.”
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Al-Hayek said she believes the “All Are Neighbors” event does reflect Baylor’s values and beliefs. She referred to Baylor’s motto, which promotes the school’s three commitments to Christian faith, to Texas and to the world.
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The counter-event “affirms that everybody is included, and that we are all made with Jesus’ command to love thy neighbor,” Al-Hayek said. “He never specifies who that neighbor is, because we all are.”
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