What That Means and What It Doesn’t
A OPINION By Wayne D. Lewis Jr., President, Houghton University
As we enter the second week of June, Pride Month celebrations in our New York Southern Tier communities and across the U.S. continue. While the past two years have seen an increase in voiced concerns, Pride festivities in local communities across the nation continue to draw crowds and enjoy substantial public support.
Many American colleges and universities celebrate Pride month. Even with many traditional college students away from their campuses for the summer break, employees and students stage Pride recognition or celebrations, sometimes on campus or by representing the institution in community parades and festivals, and often through institutional websites and social media platforms.
Some Christian colleges and universities celebrate Pride month; Houghton University does not. Unfortunately, the knee-jerk reaction to our absence from Pride celebrations is the assumption that we do not participate because we hate gay people. That is a lie.
As Christians, we believe God has created every person. We believe God created men and women in His very own image. As image bearers of God, regardless of background, beliefs, or behavior, each of us deserves respect. Our Christian faith requires that we treat all people with respect, including, but not limited to, people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Houghton does not celebrate Pride because its purposes conflict with our Christian convictions. Pride is the celebration of LGBT+ lifestyles and culture, and seeks to empower and advocate not only for the rights of community members, but also for increased visibility and full inclusion of its various lifestyles in the mainstream of American life and culture. Such advocacy runs counter to our sincerely held beliefs.
As an evangelical Christian university, Houghton holds traditional Christian positions on marriage, sex, and gender. Students at Houghton live in single sex residence facilities based solely on their biological sex. Students may only compete on athletics teams and use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their biological sex. Houghton employees do not display or use preferred pronouns. Neither premarital nor extramarital sex is permitted at Houghton, and we believe God’s intention for marriage is to be a life-long, monogamous commitment between one man and one woman. There is no university-recognized student group for gender and sexual minorities at Houghton.
Houghton cannot simultaneously hold traditional Christian convictions and celebrate Pride. Our beliefs and convictions are incompatible with the celebration of LGBT+ lifestyles. With that said, we are respectful of our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and peer institutions whose beliefs and convictions differ from ours. We hope our neighbors, colleagues, and peer institutions are respectful of us.
The beauty of living in a diverse and pluralistic society is living together in relative harmony with people and groups whose backgrounds, heritages, ways of thinking, customs, and behaviors are different from our own. We do not all have to think, worship, or behave in the same manner. In the U.S., within the bounds of law and morality, each of us is free to live according to our beliefs. The only time we have a problem is when one of us takes actions that infringe on the freedom or safety of others.
Houghton will never celebrate Pride, but we will always recognize and celebrate the humanity of our LGBT+ friends and neighbors. We will continue to work with our neighbors and friends to ensure all people in our communities are safe and respected.
Author Bio: Wayne D. Lewis, Jr. is President of Houghton University, a Christian liberal arts university in New York’s Southern Tier. He serves on the board of trustees for the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York (CICU) and on the Strategic Oversight Council of the Salvation Army’s College for Officers Training (Suffern, NY). Wayne resides in Western New York with his wife and daughter.
