Why Go to a School That Rejects Who You Love?
The most up-voted comment on the Atlantic piece that sparked our discussion thread is the following:
I say this as a gay man: Instead of paying for the privilege of attending a university that thinks you are an abomination—and thereby supporting them in their efforts to keep their awful beliefs alive—perhaps it would be wiser to attend one of the many (excellent) secular colleges and universities of our nation?
I have spoken out against and will continue to speak out against discriminatory behavior from businesses and government, but when you do business with philosophically-based organizations—i.e. the service they offer is inextricably bound with their philosophy—you tacitly agree that they are in some way correct, or at least due respect. So while you have every reason to expect a public bakery to sell you cakes without imposing their worldview on you, you don't have the right to the same expectation when you submit to an organization dedicated to promoting a particular worldview.
Separately but very relatedly, a reader emails the hello@ account with the personal story seen below. Among many points, she describes how “the most painful thing” about being lesbian at a Christian school is the sentiment expressed by the reader excerpted above:
Thank you for your discussion about LGBT students at Christian colleges. I am a lesbian who attended Olivet Nazarene University, which is part of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and has a statement in its code of conduct prohibiting “homosexual acts.”