The Coexistence of Religion and the LGBTQ+ Community on EU’s Campus

Religion and the LGBTQ+ community are two communities that often see clashes and disagreements; however, the coexistence of faith and queer identity is important for many on Elmhurst University’s campus.

In an effort to get a better sense of the climate amongst the student body when it comes to this topic, we conducted a survey and distributed it to our peers. The data was collected completely anonymously from 43 students and asked them their feelings about the coexistence of LGBTQ+ students and religion on campus, as well as the overall safety of LGBTQ+ students on campus. 

In collecting this data, we received a lot of interesting information and some strong opinions.

A majority of students who identified as LGBTQ+ felt the same; on the surface, the campus is mostly a safe space for them, but this safety is highly dependent on where they are at any given time. 

Bluejays who identified as religious but not LGBTQ+ overwhelmingly felt that the campus was a safe place for queer students, and almost every single one of them stated that they had zero issues coexisting with queer students on campus.

 Of those who did state they had qualms about sharing the space with their LGBTQ+ peers, the main reason cited was incompatibility with their beliefs. 

“Their actions go against my religious beliefs,” said one anonymous student. “It is one thing to tolerate them, but Elmhurst promotes this behavior and elevates it.”

When asked about the discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ students within EU, and religious-affiliated schools all over, one anonymous adjunct professor said, “I do not think that any school should be permitted to discriminate against a student because of his or her sexual orientation ever… A lot of private universities are still governed by federal and state laws, and there’s simply no religious justification for discriminating against students because of sexual orientation.”

While the dissenting voices are few and far between, they are still very much prevalent. This is why some of the personal experiences shared via the anonymous survey left us disappointed but not surprised.

According to the data collected, 20% of EU students who identified as LGBTQ+ in the survey experienced some form of hate incidents on campus — with specific mention given to incidents that allegedly involved members of sports teams and various on-campus religious organizations. 

Another 80% of LGBTQ+ students stated that they did feel the campus was a safe space for queer students and faculty but that there were improvements that could be made.

“I feel that, as a scholar, bringing these issues to the fore and pushing them back on my own tradition is important. The job of the theologian in a sense is to push those boundaries,” said the anonymous adjunct professor. “As Christians, we believe that the church teaches the truth, and therefore us theologians, we have a responsibility to test that truth, using all of the methods intellectual and academic inquiry.”

Among the suggestions, the most popular was to officially establish an actual LGBTQ+ organization on campus, something akin to a Queer Straight Alliance. 

Interestingly enough, there is an official Queer Straight Alliance on campus, although not much is known about the organization at all, with no information on Bluejay Life about meeting times, and the last event listed having taken place two years ago. 

The QSA’s president, Jorge Davila, explained that the club has been sort of ‘low-profile’ this semester, as one of the staff advisors left EU to work elsewhere. However, the club does plan on hopefully starting up again and spreading the word to students next semester. 

In the same vein, students want to see more pride-related events around campus — with a specific appreciation given to the Office of Equity and Inclusion’s recent Coming Out Day event in which they handed out stickers and other information. 

“The LGBTQ community, like any other people, have gifts, and they can share them with the community, and so our communities would be better off if we include LGBTQ persons,” said the anonymous adjunct professor. “Also, affirming their worth and their dignity is important not only for them and for us, but it shows all people that our church takes human dignity seriously, and I would imagine that from a Christian perspective that would bring even more people to Christ.”

Students living on campus also want to see more inclusivity in residential life, with the idea of bringing back the LGBTQ+ floor in the dorms coming from several students who feel apprehensive about the lack of gender-neutral restrooms and other safe spaces for them in dorms. 

More than just inclusivity and the creation of safe spaces, the main theme that appears amongst all of the suggestions is the importance of representation. 

“Having queer representation in the president’s cabinet, like a liaison,” one student suggested. 

Upon further discussion with Reverend Scott Matheney, we learned that there are indeed two openly queer members of the President’s Cabinet, although we didn’t ask for their identities specifically. Perhaps taking that step and naming an official queer liaison would be the next best course of action so that students are aware that representation exists. 

“We’re making them feel as if they’re somehow lesser or making them feel as if because they love somebody of the same sex, they’re doing something wrong or committing a sin…,” said the anonymous adjunct professor, “…We’ve all committed sins, I’ve committed sins, you’ve committed sins, and if we’re going to start throwing stones, as Jesus said, ‘let him who’s without sin throw the first stone.’”

Another student suggested something so mundane, it shouldn’t even have to be a suggestion, to begin with; “Include queer people & topics in courses, so in history classes teach about queer people, they existed then and still do now.”

The common theme we see in most of these suggestions is that these resources have existed in the past, or do exist now, but students are unaware of them entirely because they’re not being fully brought to light. 

How can EU remedy this? The answer is pretty simple; continue educating. Keep amplifying queer voices, share resources more frequently, and be open to criticism and suggestions when they’re presented. 

Among the LGBTQ+ students on campus, a number of them are also religious. 

Senior Samuel Shulman, a Jewish student who also identifies as gay and is a staff writer for The Leader, has found that EU is a place where he can freely express both his faith and his sexuality. 

“My experience has been a slow growth,” Shulman said. “My faith has increased as I’ve gotten older, and I wanted to become closer to my faith. Elmhurst has given me to space to do that. As for being queer, I never felt stifled, so my growth was uninhabited.”

Shulman explained that he has experienced some negative views towards queer people, but it was “few and far between.”

For queer, religious students, finding support from those within their communities and finding people similar to them can be very important to their growth overall.

“Finding an intentional queer, and at the very least accepting, Christian community has been crucial for me,” said Junior Emerson Azcoitia, a Christian, queer student. “To have people in my life that are queer and Christian, queer and working in a church, queer and studying Christianity through masters and Ph.D. programs has meant so much to me and has helped me to restore my relationship with myself and my queerness.” 

For those who live the life of being religious and queer, one’s personal relationship can be a struggle, which is why support from others and feeling welcomed is so important. 

“Almost every Christian tradition is going to have people who don’t necessarily embrace inclusivity. And so, to be Christian and to be LGBTQ requires a tremendous amount of courage and convictions…,” said the anonymous adjunct professor.

Matheney discussed the enigma of Elmhurst University as a religious institution being more open and accepting than most and explained EU’s connection to the United Church of Christ. 

“The UCC is this, like, beacon of hope for queerness. I mean, like, light years ahead of the other denominations,” explained Matheney. “And I know most of the student body has no idea about the connection.” 

Indeed, most students are unaware of how LGBTQ+ friendly our campus has been over the years — and who could blame them, as we find ourselves nestled in Elmhurst, a historically conservative city.

In fact, Matheney said most students over the years have been surprised to learn of how EU’s religion and support for queerness are closely intertwined.

“There was always a pride flag in the Chaplain’s office,” Matheney said. “And students came, and they would see that and go, ‘I’d never expect that.’ But the response of course is, you should because that’s where this chaplaincy is in relationship to the history of Elmhurst.”

At the end of the day, most queer students feel safe here at EU. But if the university took some of these simple suggestions to heart and did its best to implement them, perhaps everyone would all be one step closer to feeling 100% safe and at home here.