Gay acceptance hits Christian colleges

I am a graduate of Wheaton College, a high-quality Evangelical Christian college located in the western suburbs of Chicago. I am very proud of my Wheaton education. It was at Wheaton that I learned to think.

I never before or since have been around such bright, energetic, dedicated people. I recognized I was surrounded by faculty and students smarter than I. They were also great people who took their commitment to Christ very seriously. My Wheaton education was a privilege and an honor. Wheaton College has produced an incredible number of leaders for American Evangelicalism.

At my 50th class reunion, I discovered that I had gay classmates. The movement for gay acceptance in our churches had begun to take root. The Wheaton College Gay Alumni Association was formed. The organization struggled and folded, but the information was out of the closet. Wheaton College had more than a few gay graduates who were willing to come out of their closets and tell their stories. About two years ago, I became aware of a new gay rights organization related to Wheaton College. It is composed of gay Wheaton graduates and graduates who are supportive of gay acceptance. I am happy to say that I am a supporting member of OneWheaton. Wheaton College Gay Alumni Association was a lonely organization and ahead of its time. This is not true of OneWheaton. OneWheaton is the leader of a network of similar organizations in Evangelical Christian colleges across the nation.

A new reality is facing Evangelical Christian colleges. Their gay students are coming out of the closet in numbers that cannot be denied or ignored.

The July 2012 edition of Sojourners magazine carries a six-page article that describes what is happening on the campuses of dozens of Evangelical colleges. I was not surprised when the article immediately takes the reader to the campus of Wheaton College. The article tells the story of Steve Slagg, a recent graduate of the college. For most of his freshman year, Steve remained in his closet. He came out of his closet toward the end of his freshman year and became a notable person in demand for small group conversations.

The pressure was too great and he returned to his closet for the next 2.5 years. Then Steve wrote an article for a new student publication called the Pub. In the article, he wrote that at Wheaton, homosexual students either do not exist or they do not matter. His key assertion was that “we exist.”

“We exist” has become the key declaration of gay organizations on other campuses. Slagg found that he not only had an audience, he had a supportive audience. The response of Wheaton students reflects the changes of attitude in the general public.

Statistical research tells the story. Only 19 percent of Evangelical Christians in general support gay marriage. Among white (Wheaton College is very white) Evangelicals between the ages of 18 and 29, 44 percent support gay marriages. But for Evangelicals over 65, approval of gay marriages drops to 12 percent. The nation’s attitude toward gay marriage is changing at the speed of light. The approval of gay marriage expands with young people, and the dissenting older population is dying off. Very quickly the student bodies at Evangelical colleges are becoming supporters of gay marriage.

The statistics are forcing colleges such as Wheaton into a reluctant tolerance. They are taking the first step. They are admitting that gay students exist on their campuses.

Just a few years ago a student on an Evangelical Christian college campus never heard a word about the homosexual phenomenon. There is still nothing in the curriculum that fosters such discussion. However, campuses are abuzz with conversations about being both gay and Evangelical Christian.

Evangelical Christian colleges are faced with moving far beyond mere tolerance. The students who are saying “we exist” are saying much more. They are telling their stories. When the stories of gay persons are heard, the response of an overwhelming majority is to believe the stories and embrace the storytellers.

Over the years, I have served on the national boards of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and the Institute for Welcoming Resources. Each is now a major force in the pursuit of full acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons. Each has been built on the power of storytelling.

OneWheaton and other similar campus organizations are being built in the same way. Students are coming out of their closets and telling their stories.

President Barack Obama brought an end to gay discrimination in the U.S. military by a presidential decree. Slagg wrote an article in a literary journal published on the campus of Wheaton College. History may well record that Slagg’s article was the more important of the two.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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