-Will Christian Colleges Across America be Forced to Choose Between Biblical Standards and Accreditation?
by Dr. D ~ October 13th, 2014
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Gordon College in Massachusetts is in danger of losing its accreditation over its Christian Biblical policy banning sex outside of marriage. However it is not the ban on heterosexual relations outside of marriage but the homosexual kind that has brought the college policy under close scrutiny by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC):
The Commission has asked the College to submit a report for consideration at the Commission’s September 2015 meeting describing the process and its outcomes, to ensure that the College’s policies and processes are non-discriminatory and that it ensures its ability to foster an atmosphere that respects and supports people of diverse characteristics and backgrounds, consistent with the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation.
Response: The fact that this case has received so much attention will naturally lead other regional accreditation bodies to look at the Christian colleges and universities in their own area. The NEASC is pretty much expecting Gordon College to change its policies or else. This is tantamount to having a government agency force a Christian institution to abandon its Christian identity, character and Biblical stand or face irreparable damage. This leaves me to wonder if Christian institutions will be force all across America to abandon their Christian oriented student behavior policies that have been in place forever in order to keep their accreditation?
What if the colleges promised to only enforce a ban on heterosexual relations outside of marriage while passing on the homosexual kind would that be enough? I am saying outright that Gordon College would not be in trouble if homosexuality was unnamed and unregulated and their policy only banned premarital heterosexual relations. That is how upside down this country is becoming when it comes to homosexuality which now has special rights that even trump specific provisions in the Constitution.
Christian collages and universities all across America better prepare themselves for an onslaught of scrutiny, ‘witch hunts’ and persecution. Every institution will now be forced to make an official choice between traditional Biblical teaching and the new PC commandments of ‘non-discrimination’ when it comes to homosexuality. But yes your ‘Christian’ standards can probably continue to ‘discriminate’ against heterosexual pre-marital relations just not the government sanctioned and protected same-sex kind. however, if your institution is in California you will be forced by the government to pay for abortion coverage regardless of your pre-marital policies and religious convictions. So much for the now increasingly ignored and considered ‘old fashion’ and ‘outdated’ First Amendment. *Top
October 13th, 2014 at 3:13 pm
Here is what the NEASC says about accreditation on its own website:
“NEASC Accreditation Attests To:
substantial compliance with established qualitative standards
integrity in statements to the public describing the institution’s program
institutional commitment to improvement
sufficiency of institutional resources”
Which of these criteria is violated by a school policy on pre-marital sex/sex out of wedlock?
Answer: None of them.
There is also a 32 page pdf on the organization’s web site that sets out its criteria for accreditation. None of them that I could find seemed to address school policies pertaining to extra-marital sex, or require that a school abandon such policies.
Note that the loss of accreditation would cost students enrolled at the school financial aid.
In short, accreditation is designed and intended (as reflected by NEASC’s own website) to insure the quality of a school’s academic performance. Nothing in the concept of accreditation involves Biblically-based rules for behavior, to which students agree by enrolling.
I note that they also accredit Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, any number of Catholic schools in the US, the Islamic Academy of New England and several other Islamic schools in New England.
The Islamic Academy of New England, for example, (located in Sharon, Mass), states on its web pages that its goals include ” integrating Islam in all aspects of the learning process”. The Islamic Academy has an online handbook that mandates that girls must wear clothing “in accordance with Islamic mandates” and that “all students are expected to demonstrate a high standard of Islamic conduct at all times.” Also, the following sentence is underlined in the school’s handbook (available on line, page 30): “Any student whose behavior is detrimental to the the well being of the class or to the Islamic environment of the Academy will be excluded from the Academy”.
Oddly, the NEASC seems not to have taken umbrage with the foregoing.
Brian
October 13th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
Let me add a second comment. The Islamic Academy for Peace in Metheun, Mass. is also accredited by NEASC. Its handbook requires students “at all times” (even when out of school) to conduct themselves with discretion and modesty “according to the Quran and Sunnah”
Again, I am forced to note that NEASC has never required any Islamic school to alter its ethical position in exchange for accreditation.
October 14th, 2014 at 6:53 am
Brian,
That is what is so frustrating about the NEASC action in this case. They have obviously singled out Gordon College for a new PC progressive social ‘non- discrimination’ requirement. The is the excuse that many colleges and universities are using to kick Christian student clubs also off campus.It will never apply to Muslim institutions because of the new PC dictum supporting ‘multi-culturalism’ and avoiding ‘Islamophobia.’ Note that PC multi-culturalism gives a pass to any belief system except Christianity and Judaism.
October 14th, 2014 at 7:00 am
Brian,
The NEASC will never force a Muslim school to back away from its basic teaching. The Progressives which dominate American education seem to have a ‘death wish’ when it comes to Islam and anything opposing Christianity and Western civilization.
August 10th, 2016 at 9:19 am
[…] This has already happened in our colleges and universities. Conservatives are rarely allowed to speak on campuses anymore and new laws are in the works in places like California to eliminate Christian colleges that want to maintain Christian moral standards and in other cases some are being challenged by accreditation associations. […]