California State University system to recognize InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
The CSU system derecognized InverVarsity Christian Fellowship last year because the group required that its leaders be Christian.
The California State University (CSU) system is the largest university system in America with 450,00 students.
The California State University (CSU) system has announced that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship will be recognized after the group agreed to modify its bylaws to allow any student to apply for a leadership position, regardless of their religious views.
During the 2014-2015 school year, InterVarsity Fellowship groups were restricted from recruiting members during student activity fairs and banned from using school rooms designated for recognized groups because of CSU's nondiscrimination policy.
“InterVarsity’s Christian faith compels us to welcome all people,” said Jim Lundgren, the President of InterVarsity.
“At the same time, we maintain our commitment to provide campus communities that are clearly Christian, where all students can experience and learn more about Christian community, theology, and practice. We’re grateful for this development and are looking forward to continued ministry on CSU campuses.”
Ed Stetzer of Christianity Today criticized CSU’s policy last year, noting that “[f]ollowing the same logic, any group that insists on requiring its leaders to follow an agreed upon set of guiding beliefs is no longer kosher (irony intended) at California’s state universities.”
“This will impact many other faith-based organizations with actual, well, faith-based beliefs. Presumably, even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals would have to allow Oscar Meyer to lead their campus chapters,” he added.
The California State University (CSU) system is the largest university system in America with 450,00 students.
This article has been amended since its initial posting.
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