CCCU Statement on Hunter v. Department of Education Lawsuit

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities responds to the Hunter v. U.S. Department of Education lawsuit filed on March 31, 2021: 

The CCCU is currently reviewing the federal lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education. We take these reports of student experience very seriously and are committed to learning, growing, and deepening our understanding of how we can provide and strengthen support for all students on Christian college and university campuses.   

CCCU institutions subscribe to a number of biblical convictions, including a historic, biblical understanding of marriage as part of broader religious convictions around human sexuality and gender, and the right of our institutions to teach and instill those convictions in the next generation of believers is protected by the First Amendment. Faith-based higher education has always been an essential element of the diversity of the higher education system in the United States—many of the first colleges and universities in the United States were religious—and it is crucial that students continue to be given the opportunity to choose and access the college of their choice in a diverse educational landscape.  

CCCU institutions should be places where all students feel safe, supported, and welcome. We know the college experience can be stressful, and even more so for LGBTQ students who are working to understand how their sexual orientation or gender identity intersects with their personal faith. We also know from national data that this issue is not unique to Christian colleges, and that LGBTQ students experience challenges at colleges and universities nationwide.   

CCCU institutions serve diverse student bodies and work to care for all students. There is zero tolerance for bullying, harassment, and assault at CCCU institutions, and campus leaders understand their responsibility to ensure that all students believe and feel that they are created in the image of God and therefore possess full dignity, value, and worth.   

The CCCU has supported a line of research over the last decade on the experiences of LGBTQ students at Christian colleges that has been and continues to be published in peer-reviewed journals and in more accessible book form. This research will continue to inform CCCU institutions in their effort to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students who seek a faith-integrated education.