Wheaton College Defends Decision to Allow Homosexual Student Group on Campus

LTRP Note: Over the past 13 years, we have noticed a trend: Once a Christian college begins to incorporate contemplative spirituality into the lives of their students and faculty, views toward homosexuality, evolution, and interspirituality begin to change. The following story is a case in point as Wheaton College has been on the contemplative prayer college list for several years.

By Garrett Haley
Christian News Network

WHEATON, Il. – A prominent evangelical college is defending its decision to allow the formation of homosexual student group on campus.

Wheaton College is a private evangelical school located near Chicago. Established in 1860, the school enrolls approximately 3,000 students and operates under the motto “For Christ and His Kingdom.”

Due to the college’s Christian heritage, Wheaton’s Student Handbook requires all students to “abstain from … same-sex sexual behavior,” and the school’s Community Covenant condemns “homosexual behavior and all other sexual relations outside the bounds of marriage between a man and woman.” However, two groups of Wheaton-affiliated students and alumni have recently presented challenges to these policies.

OneWheaton encourages students to embrace their homosexuality

The first group, “OneWheaton,” seeks to “affirm LGBTQ individuals and the relationships that are a natural expression of their identity,” according to the group’s website. Members of OneWheaton maintain that same-sex sexual attraction is to be celebrated. In a letter distributed across the Wheaton campus in 2011, the organization encouraged students with same-sex attractions to emerge “from the closet” and embrace their homosexuality.

“We do not believe there is anything wrong with being gay,” the group said in a media release. Click here to continue reading.

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