Grace College and it’s statement regarding behaviors expressly prohibited by Scripture was cited in a recent article in the Fort Wayne, Ind., Journal Gazette. The article noted that many religious colleges and institutions in northeastern Indiana would not likely to extend benefits to spouses of legally married same-sex couples. A portion of the story appears below. Click here to read the complete article.
Same-sex benefits not found at colleges
Staff sign beliefs pacts at Christian schools
Last month, Mennonite-affiliated Goshen College announced that it would extend benefits to the spouses of legally married same-sex couples. But the decision isn’t likely to signal a rush by other Fort Wayne-area religious colleges and universities to do the same.
That’s because few of those institutions have openly gay or lesbian staff members – in part because of little-known policies that make it unlikely they would be hired in the first place.
Take, for example, Grace College in Winona Lake. The evangelical Christian college requires applicants to agree to a 12-section document about beliefs in God, Jesus and the Scriptures or explain why they don’t, according to its online application.
The college also has job seekers sign a “Statement of Community Expectations” that precludes homosexual behavior, among other activities, as “expressly prohibited by Scripture and … not acceptable among members of the Grace Schools community.”
Such statements are not uncommon among conservative Christian and other religious institutions of higher learning. Marion-based Indiana Wesleyan University, with a center in Fort Wayne, has a Community Lifestyle Statement that cites “homosexual behavior” as well as drinking, possession of pornography, gambling and most dancing as unacceptable.
Click here to read the complete article.