Last fall I read a short notice online about a Baptist
university in Georgia that was adding a new requirement to all of its faculty
contracts for the following academic year: a "Personal Lifestyle
Statement" that requires all faculty to “reject homosexuality, premarital
sex, adultery, drug use and public drinking near campus.” I recall saying at
the time that this would almost certainly decimate the school’s faculty,
alienate all of the students who aren’t themselves fanatic-level Baptists, and
bring scorn and mockery onto the entire institution; I also recall saying that
neither the Georgia Baptist Convention (which controls the university) nor the
hardcore Baptists themselves would be likely to care…
You can pick up the story off the AOL News page if you want
to, but it would appear that over 50 faculty at Shorter University have already
quit, and a survey taken last month shows that only about 12% of the total
faculty are planning to sign the statement and remain at the school for the
next school year. It’s not clear from the AOL News story, or from any of my
other online resources, how exactly the University’s leadership expects to
replace approximately 88% of their instructors; it’s also not clear how they
expect to retain their accreditation (Shorter is accredited by The Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS) without anything approaching an
appropriate number of courses taught by ladder faculty. There is also no
indication of their leadership backing off, however…
Now, we should acknowledge that as outrageous as this
sounds, the University isn’t actually breaking any laws. Under Title VII of the
1964 Civil Rights Act, any religious institution is entitled to discriminate in
favor of a specific religion (presumably their own) in their hiring practices,
even in job positions that have nothing to do with instruction in or practice
of religion. It’s one of those provisions in Federal laws that need to be
there, otherwise you might have Christian churches being required to hire Buddhist
priests or face discrimination lawsuits, and even stupider things.
Unfortunately, some institutions will use Title VII to skirt any aspect of the
labor laws they don’t like, such as the case from last year of a teacher at a
religious school being fired for not being a member of the faith that
controlled the school – after she filed for Worker’s Compensation and
disability. Or, as in this case, to eliminate anyone who isn’t sufficiently
Baptist to suit the Convention’s requirements…
It’s not a story that has much relevance in a business
setting except as a cautionary tale – and yet, I think it’s still worth
bothering my readers (assuming I have readers) about. Shorter didn’t start out
to become a bastion of religious intolerance and job discrimination, and
despite its traditional close ties to the Baptists it has been a mostly
respectable institution of higher learning, academically sound enough to earn
SACS accreditation and acceptance from the U.S. Department of Education. Now,
even if they remain academically beyond reproach, they are going to be regarded
by tens of millions of people around the world as a bunch of God-bothering homophobic
Southern Redneck hicks who care more about their specific religious dogma than
they do about education or the truth. And on top of all that, it’s also hard to
imagine how this could possibly advance the religious agenda of any of the
parties involved, considering that anyone who would consider this “Personal
Lifestyle Statement” a good idea is already a Christian zealot – and probably a
Southern Baptist as well…
It’s something to think about the next time you hear someone
complaining about how the Civil Rights/Equal Opportunity laws are too intrusive…
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