University Bans Christian Group for Requiring Leaders to Adhere to 'Basic Biblical Truths'

Religion Today | Published: Oct 22, 2012

University Bans Christian Group for Requiring Leaders to Adhere to 'Basic Biblical Truths'

Tufts University in Medford, Mass., has banned a Christian group from campus over the group's requirement that its student leaders adhere to "basic biblical truths of Christianity," the Weekly Standard reports. The decision to ban the Tufts Christian Fellowship -- the Tufts chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA -- was made by members of the university's student government, specifically the Tufts Community Union Judiciary. The group "will lose the right to use the Tufts name in its title or at any activities, schedule events or reserve university space through the Office for Campus Life," the Tufts Daily reported, and it will also be unable to receive money from a pool students are required to pay into that is specifically set aside for campus group funding. According to the Tufts Daily, "the group had been operating in a state of suspended recognition after the Judiciary found that the group's constitution excluded students from applying to leadership positions based on their beliefs. The clauses in question require that any TCF member who wishes to apply for a leadership role must adhere to a series of tenets called a Basis of Faith, or eight 'basic biblical truths of Christianity.'" The group is planning to appeal the student board's decision.

University Bans Christian Group for Requiring Leaders to Adhere to 'Basic Biblical Truths'