EDITORS' CORNER
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ANALYSIS: Change adds to broader concerns about Christian higher education institutions’ mission drift
Staff at the University of Notre Dame are no longer being asked to adhere to its Catholic mission – a change that adds to broader concerns about mission drift among Christian higher education institutions.
University leaders made the change in late October when they revamped the “ND Values,” a set of “organizational principles” for its 4,500 non-faculty employees, according to The Observer, Notre Dame’s student newspaper.
Originally, the principles, which were adopted more than 20 years ago, included the line, “Leadership in Mission: Understands, accepts and supports the Catholic mission of the university and fosters values consistent with that mission.”
That line has been replaced.
While the new principles include a preface that states “In all that we do, we seek to advance Notre Dame’s mission as a global Catholic research university to be a force for good in the world,” the list of values itself no longer includes support for the Catholic faith.
The Observer reports more:
[Heather Christophersen, vice president for human resources,] said the decision to remove the value “Leadership in Mission” came in an attempt to make the Catholic mission an overarching theme, instead of a single value. …
She described the Catholic mission as an umbrella, saying, “It’s in everything we do. We strive to be the best global Catholic research institution, to be a force for good. So that kind of phrase frames these values.”
Additionally, she said the previous value that emphasized staff’s acceptance and support for the University’s Catholic mission “often caused confusion of what that really means, and what these [new values] are trying to do is have all of them reflect the mission.”
Christophersen said the University does not track religious affiliation for staff as they do for faculty and students.
She specifically referenced the difficulty of evaluating staff on their adherence to the value of “Leadership in Mission” in annual performance reviews as a reason for the change.
However, the change prompted criticism from the Cardinal Newman Society, which promotes faithful Catholic education.
Speaking on Ave Maria in the Afternoon, the society’s Kevin Murphy said some universities seem to believe that a strong commitment to faith will “diminish” their reputations.
So, instead they “cling to it kind of lightly” so as “not to offend,” Murphy said.
“In its essence, it seems to me that the Catholic faith matters very little at Notre Dame as compared to what it should be,” he said.
Others have expressed similar concerns about Protestant Christian universities.
A Texas Christian University alumnus recently told The College Fix about the institution giving course credit for volunteering at Planned Parenthood, offering tutoring only to students of color, and hosting a LGBTQ pride event.
“As a 17 year old touring the campus, I remember being told about DEI initiatives,” Preston Campbell said.
“As a child you think, ‘That’s great for them.’ As an adult, you realize, yes, it does affect you, financially and morally/ideologically when you are footing the bill for these people and watch this ideology be woven into the curriculum you’re paying to receive,” Campbell said.
Point Loma Nazarene University is another example.
This fall, the California school is facing criticism for refusing to recognize a Turning Point USA chapter. Several students and alumni said the decision represents the institution’s ongoing divergence from its evangelical roots, The Fix reported.
Even universities considered to be strongholds of traditional Christian values have come under fire.
Biola University, a well-known evangelical Christian institution, also has faced criticism for “diversity, equity, and inclusion departments, and lectures teaching critical race theory and black liberation theology,” and an LGBTQ support group that affirms transgenderism, the Daily Wire reported last week.
Several Biola professors who spoke on condition of anonymity raised concerns about a recent faculty training on dealing with students who identify as LGBTQ.
One professor told the Daily Wire that faculty were encouraged “not to attach labels like ‘sin’ to LGBTQ activities.”
Another professor told the conservative news outlet: “I think the whole approach toward DEI, the influence of [critical race theory], all of that kind of stuff happened because we have faculty that were trained in it at non-Christian institutions. And they will tell us, ‘This is just the correct way of doing things, this is just how things are done.’”
“And I’ve been stopping frequently and saying, ‘Yeah, but is anybody asking if this is biblical?’”
Editor’s note: Biola disputes the Daily Wire’s report. Spokesperson Sarah Dougher told The Fix in an email that the university closed its diversity and inclusion office in January.
Additionally, she said the university does “not affirm Critical Race Theory,” but it does teach about it: “A truly Christian education should neither fear nor ignore any philosophy or idea, but it should strive to comprehend them and measure them by the tracing of Scripture and the positive witness of the church through time and space.”
Addressing the “LGBTQ support group,” she said Biola does not affirm transgenderism. She said the university has a ministry for students with same-sex attraction that helps them “steward their sexuality in a biblical and God-honoring way” and “shepherd them … to live faithfully as those who find our identity in Christ.” She said this ministry does not subvert “Biola’s biblical principles or beliefs about sexuality, gender and relationships. Same-sex behavior is contrary to Biola’s core values and doctrinal statement and what we believe as a Christian institution.”
MORE: Texas Christian U. to end gender, race studies departments
