The Worst List identifies the “absolute worst, most unsafe campuses for LGBTQ youth” in the United States. The colleges & universities listed have chosen to openly discriminate against LGBTQ youth and/or have requested Title IX exemptions to perpetuate the harms of religion-based bigotry. The criterion to be the “absolute worst” campus includes either of the following: 1) Received and/or applied for a Title IX exemption to discriminate against LGBTQ youth and/or 2) Demonstrated past history and track record of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices.
Find LGBTQ-friendly Colleges & Universities: Prospective students and families who are looking for LGBTQ-friendly campuses are encouraged to check out the Campus Pride Index for a free online search database.
Select a State Above optional filters below
- Abilene Christian University
- American Indian College
- Anderson University
- Andrews University
- Appalachian Bible College
- Arizona Christian University
- Arlington Baptist University
- Asbury Theological Seminary
- Asbury University
- Azusa Pacific University
- Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary
- Baylor University
- Belmont Abbey College
- Benedictine College
- Bethany Global University
- Bethel University
- Bethel University (formerly Bethel College)
- Bethel University, Minnesota
- Bethlehem College and Seminary
- Biola University
- Blue Mountain College
- Bluefield University (formerly Bluefield College)
- Bob Jones University
- Boston Baptist College
- Brewton Parker College
- Brigham Young University
- Brigham Young University-Idaho
- Brigham Young University–Hawaii
- Bryan College
- Cairn University
- California Baptist University
- Carson-Newman University
- Catholic University of America
- Cedarville University
- Central Christian College of the Bible
- Charleston Southern University
- Charlotte Christian College and Theological Seminary
- Clarks Summit University
- Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
- College of Biblical Studies
- College of the Ozarks
- Colorado Christian University
- Columbia International University
- Compass College of Cinematic Arts
- Concordia University, Irvine
- Concordia University, Nebraska
- Corban University
- Covenant College
- Criswell College
- Crown College
- Dallas Baptist University
- Dallas Theological Seminary
- Dordt University (formerly Dordt College)
- East Texas Baptist University
- Eastern University
- Elim Bible Institute and College
- Emmanuel College
- Ensign College or LDS Business College
- Erskine College
- Evangel University
- Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary
- Faith International University and Seminary
- Family of Faith Christian University
- Florida College
- Franciscan University of Steubenville
- Freed-Hardeman University
- Fresno Pacific University
- Fuller Theological Seminary
- Gateway Seminary
- Geneva College
- George Fox University
- Gordon College
- Grace Christian University
- Grace University
- Grove City College
- Hannibal-LaGrange University
- Hardin-Simmons University
- Harding University
- Heartland Baptist Bible College
- Houghton College
- Houston Baptist University
- Howard Payne University
- Indiana Wesleyan University
- John Paul the Great Catholic University
- Judson College
- Judson University
- Kentucky Mountain Bible College
- La Sierra University
- LABI College
- Lancaster Bible College
- Lee University
- Liberty University
- Life Pacific College
- Lipscomb University
- Louisiana College
- Lutheran Brethren Seminary
- Malone University
- Manhattan Christian College
- Maranatha Baptist University
- Messiah University
- Mid-Atlantic Christian University
- Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Milligan University
- Mississippi College
- Missouri Baptist University
- Moody Bible Institute
- Multnomah University
- New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
- North Greenville University
- Northpoint Bible College
- Northwest Nazarene University
- Nyack College
- Oak Hills Christian College
- Ohio Christian University
- Oklahoma Baptist University
- Oklahoma Christian University
- Oklahoma Wesleyan University
- Olivet Nazarene University
- Oral Roberts University
- Ozark Christian College
- Patrick Henry College
- Phoenix Seminary
- Point Loma Nazarene University
- Point University
- Randall University
- Reformation Bible College
- Reformed Theological Seminary
- Regent University
- Rhema Bible Training College
- Seattle Pacific University
- Shepherds Theological Seminary
- Shorter University
- Simpson University
- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Southeastern University
- Southern Evangelical Seminary
- Southern Nazarene University
- Southern Virginia University
- Southern Wesleyan University
- Southwest Baptist University
- Southwestern Assemblies of God University
- Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Southwestern Christian University
- Spring Arbor University
- St. Francis University
- St. Gregory's University
- Sterling College
- Tabor College
- Taylor University
- The Baptist College of Florida
- The Master's University
- The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Toccoa Falls College
- Trevecca Nazarene University
- Trinity Baptist College
- Trinity Bible College
- Trinity International University
- Truett-McConnell University
- Union University
- University of Dallas
- University of Mary
- University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
- University of Mobile
- University of Northwestern-St. Paul
- University of the Cumberlands
- Vanguard University
- Virginia Baptist College
- Wayland Baptist University
- West Coast Baptist College
- Westminster Seminary California
- Westminster Theological Seminary
- Westmont College
- Wheaton College
- William Carey University
- William Jessup University
- Williams Baptist University
- Word of Life Bible Institute
- Yeshiva University
- York College
- Zaytuna College
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Not Listed
Enrollment Size: 3695
Abilene Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and most recently, implemented an aggressive, discriminatory ban on same-sex relationships for student employees (including same-sex dating) that has created an inhospitable, harmful climate.
As stated on the campus website, those student workers “asked to exemplify and support the university’s mission” — will be barred from dating people of the same sex, similar to how faculty and staff have been for years.
Campus History
- April 2011 - Abilene Christian University's Vice President of Student Life refuses to allow the formation of a Gay-Straight-Alliance, states, "We are not going to embrace any advocacy for gay identity"
- March 2018 - Abilene Christian University bans same-sex relationships for some student employees
- March 2018 - Abilene Christian Alumni Fight Back
- April 2018 - New Abilene Christian University policy discriminates against LGBT students
- March 2019 - Abilene Christian University history professor argues that homosexuals should be excluded from the Boy Scouts of America, claims that homosexuality is "sexual perversion"
- 2021 - Abilene Christian University posts convoluted resolution about conflicting Christian values, seemingly to appease individuals and improve public perception, without expressing any responsibility for safety nor commitment to further inclusive campus efforts for LGBTQ people.
American Indian College
Phoenix, Arizona
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 86
American Indian College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Anderson University
Anderson, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 2325
Anderson University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- February 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2015 – Why same-sex ruling has SC’s religious-based schools fearing loss of tax exemption
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, Michigan
Religious Affiliation: Adventist
Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist
Enrollment Size: 1805
Andrews University has qualified for the Worst List because it has an extensive and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, including opposing student advocacy for LGBTQ homeless youth, along with banning same-sex relationships and official LGBTQ student groups.
Campus History
- March 2015 – Andrews University LGBT Bake Sale Dustup Reveals Adventism’s Issues With Homosexuality
- March 2015 – My school won’t let us sell cupcakes for homeless LGBT youth
- October 2015 – Adventist Seminary Has Trouble Getting Facts Straight in Homosexuality Statement
- August 2016 - Two Michigan colleges recognized among country's worst for LGBT students
- September 2016 - 2 local colleges rank in 'Worst Campuses for LGBTQ' list
- January 2021 - Andrews University purports inclusion in A Seventh-day Adventist Framework for Relating to Sexual Orientation Differences on the Campus of Andrews University for LGBTQ students. The framework does not address discriminatory acts and treatment of transgender students as well as further servers to reiterate discriminatory treatment by not allowing LGBTQ students to live holistically and authentically their full Christian identities. It is apparent this webpage Haven: Care for our LGBT+ Students on the official campus website is intended to pacify and diffuse any LGBTQ concerns and improve public perception of the campus. Unfortunately the webpage serves to only disguise negative harms and illustrate how the campus fails to comprehend LGBTQ well-being, mental health, and safety.
Appalachian Bible College
Mount Hope, West Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Independent Baptist (unaffiliated)
Enrollment Size: 274
Appalachian Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2016 – ABC President Supports Religious Exemption Bill
- June 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- 2021 - Appalachian Bible College "forbids homosexuality" and sets dangerous, unsafe anti-LGBTQ policies and procedures in rules handbook titled The Servants Staff: Helping Students Nurture Godly Character.
Arizona Christian University
Glendale, Arizona
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 1000
Arizona Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- 2019 - Arizona Christian University Catalog 2019-2021 states: "We believe any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual conduct, bestiality, incest, or use of pornography) is sinful an d offensive to God." The catalog expresses harmful religion-based bigotry and furthers demonization of LGBTQ people.
Arlington Baptist University
Arlington, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: World Baptist Fellowship
Enrollment Size: 265
Arlington Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2016 – Dept. of Education requests further information
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
- August 2016 - The Nine Most Anti-LGBT Colleges in Texas
- February 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
- February 2018 - Title IX exemption response from Dept. of Education under Trump Administration now stating that the letter from May 2016 requesting further information (letter from highest ranking official stating Title IX conflicts with religious tenets) is not needed for an institution in advance of claiming a religious exemption.
This is in sharp contrast to the written letters issued from the Dept. of Education under the Obama Administration requesting additional information prior to receiving a Title IX exemption, as the letter states: Primarily, the written "request'' for exemption from an institution is a request for assurance from OCR of exemptions to certain sections of the regulation. Religious institutions that have neither sought nor received prior written acknowledgement from OCR may still invoke their exemption after OCR receives a Title IX complaint. If, however. the College would like written acknowledgement from OCR of its exempt status, the College may submit a statement from its highest-ranking official that identifies the provisions of Title IX that conflict with the specific tenets of the controlling religious organization.
Asbury Theological Seminary
Wilmore, Kentucky
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1639
Asbury Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2012 – North Georgia pastor responds to Asbury Seminary president: An UnTenable Argument
- June 2014 - What We Believe, from Asbury University
- May 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- August 2017 - Asbury employee signs Nashville Statement
- July 2019 - Group of 70 current and former students of Asbury Theological Seminary sign onto open letter opposing the seminary for its support of the United Methodist Church’s Traditional Plan at General Conference in 2019, citing the role of the campus and the tremendous harm committed against LGBTQ+ people in the United Methodist Church.
Asbury University
Wilmore, Kentucky
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1854
Asbury University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2012 - LGBT on a Christian Campus
- March 2013 – What does Asbury owe its LGBT students? First, accept that they exist
- July 2014 – An Open Letter to Asbury University, or, how I was a victim of workplace discrimination two years too early
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Special Report: Have Evangelical Colleges Succumbed To “Theological Paranoia”?
- April 2016 - Kentucky colleges seek exemption from feds on transgender bias
- June 2016 – The twisted logic of evangelical colleges welcoming straight atheists and rejecting gay Christians
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- September 2016 - Asbury should reevaluate their reasoning
- November 2016 - Some LGBT students fear the Title IX exemption
- March, 2020 - Column in the Lexington Herald-Leader shares how campus refused to renew the contracts of two professors who are “LGBTQ affirming.” Two Asbury professors named in the column are Jill Campbell, assistant professor of music education and voice, and Jon Roller, professor and founder of the school’s Worship Arts program.
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa, California
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Azusa Pacific University has qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
APU Haven, the university’s current unofficial LGBTQ student group, can be reached via Facebook.
Campus History
- April 2006 – “The Table is Open,” But Are All Welcome?
- September 2013 – H. Adam Ackley, Transgender Theology Professor, Asked To Leave California’s Azusa Pacific University
- October 2013 - Students Rally Behind Ousted Trans Professor at Calif. Christian College
- September 2014 – Gay US college student gets note on first week of semester: ‘Faggots don’t belong here’
- July 2015 - Gay Marriage and the Future of Evangelical Colleges
- August 2015 – Some top Christian universities remain firm in wake of SCOTUS same-sex ruling
- April 2016 - When religion and the LGBT collegiate athlete collide
- June 2016 – Faith-based colleges say anti-discrimination bill would infringe on their religious freedom
- September 2016 – How Christian Schools Should have Spent $350K
- November 2016 - Able to breathe: This gay college football player was stifled by masculinity and Christianity
- April 2017 - This gay baseball player just came out on live TV
- July 2017 - Supervisor Sues Major Christian University Over Cover-Up of Antigay Violence
- September 2018 - Human Sexuality Statement updated and available online
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary
Jacksonville , Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Baptist
Enrollment Size: 160
Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2017 - Title IX exemption requested
- January 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
- April 2021 - Record of the 2021 BMA National Meeting recommends "Ten Summary Statements of Moral Action" and #5 is the following: "We are committed to the civil rights of citizens being guaranteed, but believe that the creation of gay rights is a threat to our nation’s family life and extends civil rights beyond what is appropriate."
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 19522
Baylor University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Belmont Abbey College
Belmont, North Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Roman Catholic Church
Enrollment Size: 1711
Belmont Abbey College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Belmont Abbey College currently has no known LGBTQ student group.
Campus History
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- February 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- December 2015 – Belmont Abbey College Misrepresents Church Teaching to Discriminate Against Trans Students
- December 2015 - LGBT group: Shame on Belmont Abbey College
- August 2016 - Eight Carolinas colleges included on ‘Shame List’ for LGBT discrimination
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- January 2021 - Being true to yourself: Alums reflect on sexuality in college life, coping and finding a niche
Benedictine College
Atchison , Kansas
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Catholicism
Enrollment Size: 1900
Benedictine College has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Bethany Global University
Bloomington, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 240
Bethany Global University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2017 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Bethel University
McKenzie, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Presbyterian
Enrollment Size: 6500
Bethel University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- January 2020 – Title IX exemption request filed
- June 2020 - Title IX exemption granted
Bethel University (formerly Bethel College)
Mishawaka, Indiana
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian Missionary Church
Enrollment Size: 2152
Bethel University (formerly Bethel College) has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
Bethel University, Minnesota
St Paul, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Enrollment Size: 3198
Bethel University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a demonstrated past history and track record of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices.
Campus History
- May 2015 - What It’s Like to Be Gay at a Christian College—Where It’s a Reportable Offense - “There’s no discussion,” Sandberg said. “It’s either ‘you’re a sinner’ … or ‘let’s get close so we can fix you.’ It’s a really toxic environment.” Along with eating disorders, suicidal behavior, and alcohol use, resident assistants must immediately report homosexuality to their hall directors and possibly Student Life deans.
- 2021 - Student Handbook in sharing disciplinary standards of conduct states that: "Scripture specifically forbids drunkenness, adultery, and fornication (defined as cohabitation and/or premarital sexual relations of both a heterosexual and/or a homosexual nature). Bethel offers help in clarifying issues of sexual identity and moral behavior for students having concerns in this area."
Bethlehem College and Seminary
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Converge
Enrollment Size: 200
Bethlehem College and Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - BCS founder signs Nashville Statement
Biola University
La Mirada, California
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 6222
Biola University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds. Biola University has also qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- May 2012 – Biola University’s ‘Queer Underground’ Emerges, Rattling Evangelical Faculty And Student Body
- April 2013 – Biola University Professor Equates Being LGBTQ to Being Racist, Students Demand Apology
- November 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2014 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- April 2015 – LGBT students to Biola University: ‘Tell Our Stories Too’
- December 2015 – A Christian University Toughens Its Anti-LGBT Stances
- January 2016 – When Christian Schools Make Campuses Less Safe
- February 2016 – Students Picket Christian Colleges Seeking ‘Right to Discriminate’
- February 2016 – How Christian Universities Are Becoming a Battleground for LGBT Rights
- May 2016 – Biolans’ Equal Ground calls on President of Biola University to immediately withdraw Title IX religious exemption
- June 2016 – Accustomed to Privilege: A Response to Biola University’s SB 1146 Opposition
- June 2016 – Fear-Mongering From Religious University over LGBT Protections
- June 2016 – Faith-based colleges say anti-discrimination bill would infringe on their religious freedom
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- September 2016 – How Christian Schools Should have Spent $350K
- March 2017 - We first battled over LGBT and religious rights. Here’s how we became unlikely friends.
- June 2017 - LGBT advocates at private colleges vow to stand strong after DeVos wavers on protections
- August 2017 - Biola employees sign Nashville Statement
- August 2017 - Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing: How LGBTQ Oppression Masquerades As ‘Love’ On Non-Affirming Christian Campuses
Blue Mountain College
Blue Mountain, Mississippi
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 544
Blue Mountain College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status while still receiving federal funds.
Blue Mountain College currently has no known LGBTQ student group.
Campus History
- August 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
Bluefield University (formerly Bluefield College)
Bluefield, Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 1200
Bluefield University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Bob Jones University
Greenville, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 3000
Bob Jones University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds. They also have an extensive and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, including expelling students who come out and banning same-sex relationships and official LGBTQ student groups.
Campus History
- October 1992 – Warren Denning banned from campus
- September 1995 – Rich Merritt removed from alumni association
- October 1999 – Lance Weldy removed from alumni association
- April 2009 – Elena Kelly removed from alumni association
- April 2012 - S.C. Man: I Was Kicked Out of College for Watching Glee
- June 2012 Bob Jones University LGBT Alumni Organize and March in NYC LGBT Pride
- June 2012 – David Diachenko Forms LGBT Support Group at Bob Jones University, Fundamentalist Christian College
- July 2012 – Paula Bass’s story
- November 2013 – Rachel Sherwin’s story
- March 2015 – Petition seeks Bob Jones U. apology on anti-gay remarks
- April 2015 – LGBT group isn’t stopping at Bob Jones’ apology for stone-the-gays remark
- May 2015 – Anti-Gay Groups Gear Up To Fight A 30-Year-Old Supreme Court Victory Over Racism
- April 2016 – Title IX exemption request to discriminate against women filed
- June 2016 – Title IX exemption on women granted
- February 2017 - Liberty and Bob Jones universities may run afoul of Obama Title IX protections for LGBT
- April 2017 - Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017- Title IX exemption granted
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Boston Baptist College
Boston, Massachusetts
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Baptist Bible Fellowship International
Enrollment Size: 103
Boston Baptist College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- July 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- 2021 - Campus Statement on Human Sexuality uses unsafe, harmful anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and "declares that God’s design at Creation for sexual desire, orientation and identity is within the bounds of the marital union of one natural-born man and one natural-born women."
Brewton Parker College
Mount Vernon, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 778
Brewton Parker College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- May 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah
Religious Affiliation: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Denomination: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Enrollment Size: 33517
Brigham Young University has qualified for the Worst List because it has an established and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination that endangers victims of sexual assault and has resulted in a call for it to not be included as a Big 12 school.
Campus History
- March 2011 – Mormon ‘Gay Cure’ Study Used Electric Shocks Against Homosexual Feelings
- May 2014 – The pain of being gay and Mormon at BYU
- March 2015 – Ex-BYU student settles eviction lawsuit with apartment after gay attraction dispute
- August 2015 – BYU ranked among the least LGBT-friendly campuses
- August 2016 – Will The Very Anti-Gay, Mormon-Owned Brigham Young University Be Allowed to Join The Big 12 Conference?
- August 2016 – Students: BYU Honor Code leaves LGBT victims of sexual assault vulnerable and alone
- November 2016 - LGBT BYU students explain why they chose to attend and stay
- November 2016 - LGBT students explain why they chose to leave BYU
- January 2017 - Study shows LGBT BYU students at higher risk for depression, suicide
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
- August 2021 - Former President of Brigham Young University Elder Jeffrey Holland denounced LGBTQ+ students and suggested, in a violent turn of rhetoric, that BYU Professors needed to use their “musket fire” against LGBTQ ideology rather than directing “friendly fire” against the church.
The Elder Holland criticized what he described as their failure to defend the anti-LBGTQ+ policies of the Church. He also denounced BYU graduate Matt Easton’s heroic act of coming out during his commencement speech as valedictorian of BYU’s political science program in 2019. - Sept 2021 - Student Caught on Video Using Antigay Slur, Defacing Art Has Left BYU
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Rexburg, Idaho
Religious Affiliation: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Denomination: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Enrollment Size: 21142
Brigham Young University-Idaho has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2015 – Conversion Therapy Event at BYU-I Axed
- November 2015 – My Life At BYU-I As a Gay Mormon
- February 2016 – Rexburg reacts to the LGBT suicides
- February 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- July 2017 - Mormon university instructor fired after Facebook post supporting LGBT rights, she says
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Brigham Young University–Hawaii
Laie, Hawaii
Religious Affiliation: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Denomination: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Enrollment Size: 2500
Brigham Young University-Hawaii has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Bryan College
Dayton, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1475
Bryan College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2014 – Little Lion Man: A Bryan College Story
- October 2015 – Christian college implements 48-hour prior review policy for student newspaper after gay marriage ruling
- February 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- October 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- 2021 - Bryan Community Life Standards expressly state: "Practices specifically forbidden in the Scriptures are not permitted. These include dishonesty, theft, vandalism, fornication, adultery, homosexual behavior, immodest dress, profanity, gossip, and drunkenness."
Cairn University
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 981
Cairn University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2013 - Cairn University hosts "ex-gay" speaker Christopher Yuan
- November 2014 - Petition calls for US college to revoke honorary degree from anti-gay pastor
- October 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
California Baptist University
Riverside, California
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 7957
California Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- April 2006 – Being Christian and Gay Aren’t at Odds, Group Says
- April 2014 – Transgender woman sues Christian university that expelled her
- July 2014 - California court rules it's okay to expel a student for being transgender
- September 2016 – How Christian Schools Should have Spent $350K
- 2021 - Faith statement The Christian and the Social Order reads that "Christians should oppose... all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography."
Carson-Newman University
Jefferson City, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 3304
Carson-Newman University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2010 – GLBT alumni of Carson-Newman College join forces
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- December 2015 – Christian University in Tennessee Can Legally Bar LGBT Students
- December 2015 – Alumni pair ask Carson-Newman to revoke Title IX waiver
Catholic University of America
Washington, District of Columbia
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Roman Catholic Church
Enrollment Size: 6699
Catholic University of America has qualified for the Worst List because it has an extensive and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
Campus History
- December 2009 - Gay group carves out niche at Catholic University
- December 2012 - No LGBT group at Catholic U.
- June 2013 - Being gay at a Catholic University
- February 2017 - LGBTQ campus group again seeking recognition from Catholic University of America
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Cedarville University
Cedarville, Ohio
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Independent Baptist (unaffiliated)
Enrollment Size: 3353
Cedarville University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a pending Title IX exemption request which acknowledges the college request to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while still receiving federal funds. Members of its staff have also signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- April 2014 - Christian College Shuts Down LGBT-Friendly Student Paper
- June 2015 - Cedarville University President condemns same-sex marriage ruling in email to faculty and staff
- July 2015 - Despite 2015 SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage, evangelical colleges prohibit same-sex relationships
- August 2017 - Cedarville staff, including president, sign Nashville Statement
- March 2018 - Title IX exemption request filed
- June 2018 - Dept. of Education response letter requests further information and states that a Title IX exemption is not required (as interpreted by the DOE under the Trump Administration) in advance of claiming an exemption. Seemingly the letter discourages any campus from seeking a Title IX exemption unless there is a Title IX reported complaint.
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Central Christian College of the Bible
Moberly, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: 315
Central Christian College of the Bible has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- April 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Charleston Southern University
North Charleston, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 3596
Charleston Southern University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- August 2013 – Gay Christian Student Removed From Work-Study Position At South Carolina University
- August 2013 – New petition begs Charleston Southern University to protect LGBT students
- August 2014 – One year later, MTV follows up with fired gay Christian student
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- February 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- 2021 - Human Sexuality statement citing their core values reads: "The promotion or practice of a homosexual lifestyle (including same-sex dating behaviors) is also contrary to the university’s core values. The promotion of transgenderism fails to uphold the university’s core values."
Charlotte Christian College and Theological Seminary
Charlotte, North Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 110
Charlotte Christian College and Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Clarks Summit University
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Baptist
Enrollment Size: 1220
Clarks Summit University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a documented history as well as a 2018 public act of anti-LGBTQ discrimination not allowing a former student to re-enroll into the university because he is gay.
Campus History
- September 2018 - Turned Away for Being Gay
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
Pineville, Kentucky
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 209
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
College of Biblical Studies
Houston, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1399
The College of Biblical Studies has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Presbyterian
Enrollment Size: 1508
College of the Ozarks has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2008 - Former students share experience of homophobia at College of the Ozarks
- June 2017 - Title IX exemption requested
- January 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Sept 2021 - College of the Ozarks sues to keep harmful anti-LGBTQ housing policy
Colorado Christian University
Lakewood, Colorado
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 6058
Colorado Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- April 2012 – 5 Soulforce Equality Riders busted for “Bible study” at Colorado Christian University
- November 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2014 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- January 2015 – CCU provides further information regarding exemption request
- April 2015 – Western Conservative Summit disinvites GOP gay group
- June 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- March 2017 - CCU’s Centennial Institute launches ‘Beauty and the Beast’ boycott over ‘gay moment’
- August 2017 - CCU president signs Nashville Statement
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Columbia International University
Columbia, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Multidenominational
Enrollment Size: 1011
Columbia International University, previously called The Southern Bible Institute and Columbia Bible College & Columbia Biblical Seminary, has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- Spring 2013 - Dean of Columbia International University College of Counseling publishes article on "Overcoming Same-Sex Attraction"
- June 2017 - Title IX exemption requested
- January 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Compass College of Cinematic Arts
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Compass College of Cinematic Arts has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Concordia University, Irvine
Irvine, California
Religious Affiliation: Lutheran
Denomination: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Enrollment Size: 7957
Concordia University Irvine has qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- August 2013 – Gays protest Exodus forum at Concordia
- June 2016 – An Important Message Regarding SB 1146 from President Krueger
- June 2016 – LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill Stirs Controversy at Religious Schools
- October 2016 – Final Thoughts on SB 1146 from CUI
Concordia University, Nebraska
Seward, Nebraska
Religious Affiliation: Lutheran
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 2500
Concordia University, Nebraska has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Corban University
Salem, Oregon
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1062
Corban University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion. It also has an extensive and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, including employing faculty who specialize in "unwanted same-sex attractions," along with banning same-sex relationships and official LGBTQ student groups.
Student stories can be read here.
Campus History
- April 1977 - Title IX exemption request filed
- August 1985 - Title IX exemption granted
- March 2014 - Corban hosts anti-LGBT speaker Mark Yarhouse
- July 2014 - Corban names professor specializing in "unwanted same-sex attractions" to chair of Psychology department
- March 2018 - Corban University welcomes Dr. Sprinkel who shares " “The good news isn’t that God can make you straight; the good news is that God can make you holy because of the risen Christ.”
- April 2019 - Gay conversion therapy and Corban University
- April 2021 - Filed motion to intervene to defend their religion-based bigotry despite the abuses of LGBTQ+ students cited in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education.
- 2021 - Action Alert: Congress: Remove Corban University’s Title IX Exemption for Anti-LGBTQ Bigotry
Covenant College
Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Presbyterian
Denomination: Presbyterian Church of America
Enrollment Size: 1044
Covenant College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- April 2007 – Four Equality Riders arrested in Georgia
- January 2014 – Covenant College censored my alumni update
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- February 2016 – How Christian Universities Are Becoming A Battleground For LGBT Rights
- February 2016 – Students Call for Greater LGBT Awareness on Campus
Criswell College
Old East Dallas, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 350
Criswell College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- March 2016 – Criswell provides further information regarding exemption request
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
- 2021 - Campus student handbook describes "homosexual relations" as sexual misconduct along with "denying or rejecting one's God-given biological sex by identifying as, dressing as, and/or acting in ways other than according to one’s biological sex at birth." The other sexual misconduct listed is "sex relations with non-humans."
Crown College
Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian and Missionary Alliance
Enrollment Size: 1011
Crown College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2011 – An Open Letter to Evangelical College Students
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Dallas Baptist University
Dallas, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Baptist
Enrollment Size: 5067
Dallas Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2016 - Title IX exemption filed
- February 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
Dallas Theological Seminary
Dallas, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 2403
Dallas Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds. Members of its staff have also signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2016 - DTS president signs letter against SB 1146
- August 2017 - DTS staff, including president, sign Nashville Statement
- November 2017 - Title IX exemption requested
- April 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
- 2021 - Marriage & Human Sexuality Policy reads: "DTS students, faculty, administration, and staff must affirm the sexual complementarity of man and woman and resist the temptations of same-sex sexual attractions and refrain from any and all same-sex sexual acts or conduct, which are evidences of the whole world groaning under sin and are outside of God’s designed order for human flourishing and His Glory."
Dordt University (formerly Dordt College)
Sioux Center, Iowa
Religious Affiliation: Reformed
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 1500
Dordt University (formerly Dordt College) has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds. In addition, the campus has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- March 2007 – Equality Ride bus defaced during Dordt College stop, first stop on East Bus
- March 2007 – Dordt College issues statement of regret over incident involving gays
- December 2011 – Rick Santorum Has Tense Exchange on Gay Rights and Health Care at Dordt College
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- September 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
East Texas Baptist University
Marshall, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1231
East Texas Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- May 2016 – BGCT leader underscores opposition to gay marriage, transgenderism
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
Eastern University
St. Davids, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Eastern University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Elim Bible Institute and College
Lima, New York
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Elim Fellowship
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Elim Bible Institute and College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017- Title IX exemption granted
Emmanuel College
Franklin Springs, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: International Pentecostal Holiness Church
Enrollment Size: 788
Emmanuel College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- Current 2019 - Student handbook policy on Homosexual Behavior
- Current 2019 - Student handbook policy on Gender Identity
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Ensign College or LDS Business College
Salt Lake City, Utah
Religious Affiliation: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 2200
Ensign College or LDS Business College has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Erskine College
Due West, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Presbyterian
Denomination: Reformed Presbyterian
Enrollment Size: 575
Erskine College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2015 - Erskine College's President discusses views on the LGBT community after two volleyball players came out as gay
- September 2017 - Title IX exemption requested
- January 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
Evangel University
Springfield, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 2072
Evangel University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2016 - Samuel's story
- March 2017 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary
Ankeny, Iowa
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Independent Baptist (unaffiliated)
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Faith International University and Seminary
Tacoma, Washington
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Faith International University and Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - FIU staff signs Nashville Statement
Family of Faith Christian University
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Family of Faith Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and pregnancy while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Florida College
Temple Terrace, Florida
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: 513
Florida College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- July 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Steubenville, Ohio
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Roman Catholic Church
Enrollment Size: 2733
Franciscan University of Steubenville has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- August 2012 – Catholic University in Ohio Has Anti-Gay Pseudo-Science Course, Threatens LGBT Alumni Who Exposed It
- August 2012 – Ohio Catholic University Threatens LGBT Alumni For Exposing Anti-Gay Curriculum
- September 2012 – College Course Lumps Homosexuality, Rape, Murder
- September 2012 – Franciscan University Deviant Behavior Class Equates Homosexuality With Rape, Murder
- August 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- October 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Freed-Hardeman University
Henderson, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: 1904
Freed-Hardeman University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, California
Religious Affiliation: Anabaptist
Denomination: Mennonite Brethren
Enrollment Size: 3718
Fresno Pacific University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds. Fresno Pacific University has also qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- April 2007 – Fresno Pacific University Faculty Reaches Out to Equality Riders for Resolutions; Young Adults Bring Discussion of Christian Faith and LGBT Issues
- June 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- September 2015 – Fresno Pacific president’s statement about gay marriage causes strong reactions
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- June 2016 – FPU opposes SB 1146
- August 2016 - Fresno Pacific on ‘shame list’ of colleges said to discriminate against LGBT students
- April 2021 - Filed motion to intervene to defend their religion-based bigotry despite the abuses of LGBTQ+ students cited in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education.
- October 2021 - Fresno Pacific students claim discrimination, censorship as gay pride club question looms
- October 2021 - Fresno Pacific board rejects request for LGBTQ+ Pride Club on campus
- November 2021 - Students call on Fresno Pacific to reverse decision rejecting LGBTQ+ Pride Club
- March 2022 - Off-campus Fresno Pacific Pride Club calls for campus inclusion during the accreditation review
Fuller Theological Seminary
Pasadena, California
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 3500
Fuller Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Gateway Seminary
Ontario, California
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 2013
Gateway Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2016 - Gateway president signs letter against SB 1146
- August 2017 - Gateway president signs Nashville Statement
Geneva College
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Presbyterian
Denomination: Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
Enrollment Size: 1704
Geneva College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds. Geneva College has also hosted multiple "ex-gay" speakers on campus.
Campus History
- September 2013 – The Geneva Cabinet Does Series On Homosexuality
- August 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- September 2015 – Christopher Yuan Speaks at Geneva
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- April 2016 – Rosaria Butterfield Presents “Sexual Identity and Union With Christ”
- June 2016 – Faces of Faith: LGBTQ Students at Christian Colleges
George Fox University
Newberg, Oregon
Religious Affiliation: Quaker
Denomination: Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends
Enrollment Size: 3931
George Fox University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2012 – George Fox Alums Speak Out Against School’s Anti-Gay Policies
- November 2012 – University grapples with sensitive topic of openly gay students
- March 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- April 2014 – Ore. Trans Student Sues Christian University Over On-Campus Housing Denial
- May 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- July 2014 – How A University Used A Religious Exemption To Discriminate Against A Transgender Student
- July 2014 – How LGBT Students Are Changing Christian Colleges
- July 2014 – Housing Dispute Puts Quaker University at Front of Fight Over Transgender Issues
- December 2015 – Federal Funding Is Not a Form of Religious Liberty
- September 2016 - 2 Oregon universities on list of 'absolute worst campuses' for LGBTQ students
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Gordon College
Wenham, Massachusetts
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 5009
Gordon College has qualified for the Worst List because it has a long and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, including the administration’s retaliation against a professor who criticized the school’s ban on hiring sexually active LGBTQ people; and college president Michael Lindsay’s request for a religious exemption to President Barack Obama’s non-discrimination executive order to protect LGBTQ students under Title IX.
Campus History
- July 2014 – Gordon College leader joins request for exemption to hiring rule
- March 2015 – Gordon College Reaffirms Ban on Students, Faculty Engaging in Extramarital Sex, Homosexuality
- May 2016 – Professor sues Christian college after she floated ‘economic sanctions’ for its LGBT policy
- June 2016 – Gordon College continues grappling with LGBT issues
- March 2017 - Second professor sues Gordon College for discrimination in her work with LGBT community
- April 2017 - Christian College’s Entire Faculty Senate Resigns After Professor Denied Promotion For Supporting LGBT Rights
- May 2019 - Facing Rising Costs And Charges Of Intolerance, Gordon College Plots A Future
- November 2020 - Gordon's LGBTQ+ Club Fights for Recognition
- December 2020 - Mass. SJC to hear Gordon College’s LGBTQ workplace discrimination case
- January 2021 - SJC hears arguments in Gordon College suit; School contends social work professor's role exempts it from employment laws
- 2021 - Life & Conduct Statement reads: "Homosexual practice... will not be tolerated in the lives of Gordon community members, either on or off campus."
Grace Christian University
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Grace Gospel Fellowship
Enrollment Size: 828
Grace Christian University (formerly Grace Bible College) has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Grace University
Omaha, Nebraska
Religious Affiliation: Not Listed
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Grace University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- June 2013 - Danielle Powell, lesbian at Nebraska's Grace University, expelled, charged tuition
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Grove City College
Grove City, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 2461
Grove City College has qualified for the Worst List because of its past history and track record against LGBTQ people as well as its longstanding noncompliance with Title IX. Grove City College refused to execute an Assurance of Compliance with Title IX's nondiscrimination provisions and chose not to comply with Title IX. On February 28, 1984, the Supreme Court issued its decision (6-3 majority) in Grove City College v. Bell. As a result, Grove City College is not compliant with nondiscrimination protections under Title IX and not qualified for federal grants, loans or any form of federal financial assistance.
In addition, Grove City College members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- February 1984 - U.S. Supreme Court Decision - Grove City College v. Bell
- August 2017 - GCC staff sign Nashville Statement
Hannibal-LaGrange University
Hannibal, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1150
Hannibal-LaGrange University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2014 – Gay Student Says He Was Rejected From College After Coming Out
- April 2015 – Hobby Lobby employee visits HLGU as controversy surrounds religious freedom laws
- August 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- December 2015 – Waivers Allowing Christian Schools To Ban LGBT Students Spike In 2015
- 2021 - Employee handbook reads: "Misuses of God’s gift will be understood to include, but will not be limited to, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, incest, adultery, fornication, and homosexual acts."
Hardin-Simmons University
Abilene, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 2212
Hardin-Simmons University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- May 2016 – BGCT leader underscores opposition to gay marriage, transgenderism
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
Harding University
Searcy, Arkansas
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: 7155
Harding University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2011 – The State of the Gay at Harding University
- March 2011 – Arkansas University Blocks Queer Zine
- April 2011 – Even on Religious Campuses, Students Fight for Gay Identity
- June 2011 – Coming Out On a Christian Campus, Then and Now
- April 2014 – Op-ed: I’m a Gay Guy at a Christian College
- July 2014 – The Exciting Rise of Christian College LGBT Groups — And What They Mean for the Future
- February 2016 – McLarty Address LGBT Policies, Views at Harding
- May 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- August 2016 - Campus 'shame' list includes two Arkansas colleges
- September 2016 - Harding's Title IX Exemption: Is it hateful and discriminatory?
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Heartland Baptist Bible College
Oklahoma City , Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Baptist
Enrollment Size: 400
Erskine College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2017 - Title IX exemption requested
- January 2018 - Title IX exemption granted
- April 2018 - Campus censors LGBTQ publication distributed on campus as violation of university policy.
- 2021-22 - Academic Catalog reads: "We believe that any form of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, pedophilia, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex and design for mankind"
Houghton College
Houghton, New York
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 1000
Houghton College has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Houston Baptist University
Houston, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 2250
Houston Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- May 2014 - Houston Baptist University president compares gay people to alcoholics and arsonists
- March 2017 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Howard Payne University
Brownwood, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1163
Howard Payne University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
Indiana Wesleyan University
Marion, Indiana
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Wesleyan Church
Enrollment Size: 14730
Indiana Wesleyan University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- January 1998 – A Letter From an Alumni of Indiana Wesleyan University
February 2012 – Washington state allows same-sex marriage: Where does IWU fall? - February 2014 – SGA talks LGBTQ
- December 2014 – President Wright speaks on new LGBTQ policy
- December 2015 – IWU President Worries Over Impact of Religious Freedom Battles
- March 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- April 2016 - IWU has an anti-gay problem; boosting Gov. Mike Pence doesn't help.
- May 2016 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- June 2016 – IWU provides further information regarding exemption request
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
John Paul the Great Catholic University
Escondido, California
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Roman Catholic Church
Enrollment Size: 167
John Paul the Great Catholic University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds. John Paul the Great Catholic University has also qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- August 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- June 2016 – Statement to Sen. Lara Opposing SB 1146
- July 2016 – Bill: No LGBT Bias at Religious Schools
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Judson College
Marion, Alabama
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1290
Judson College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- April 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Judson University
Elgin, Illinois
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Evangelical
Enrollment Size: 1250
Judson University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2016 - Title IX exemption requested
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Kentucky Mountain Bible College
Jackson, Kentucky
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Kentucky Mountain Holiness Association
Enrollment Size: 89
Kentucky Mountain Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- July 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
Religious Affiliation: Adventist
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 2300
La Sierra University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
LABI College
La Puente, California
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 124
LABI College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Lancaster Bible College
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1970
Lancaster Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2016 - Lancaster Bible College named among 'absolute worst' campuses for LGBT students
Lee University
Cleveland, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 5000
Lee University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- September 2021 - Lee University removes “gender identity” from campus anti-discrimination policy
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Liberty University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a long and well-documented history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, including placing students in conversion therapy; denying tuition discounts to same-sex and trans spouses of military personnel, despite offering those discounts to heterosexual and cisgender spouses; and a formal affiliation with the dangerously anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel.
Campus History
- March 2006 – Gay Rights Activists Arrested at Liberty University
- March 2006 – 24 Soulforce protesters (including me) arrested at Falwell’s Liberty U.
- September 2008 – Liberty to allow gay group to visit campus
- December 2014 – 10 Things You Should Know About the Rabidly Anti-LGBT Liberty Counsel
- November 2015 – Liberty University Denies Tuition Discounts to LGBT Military Spouses
- January 2016 – Donald Trump picks up a key evangelical endorsement
- June 2016 – Liberty University deletes section on gays from psychology textbook
- August 2016 - Campus Pride releases Shame List of worst colleges for LGBT students
- October 2016 - Liberty University students issue scathing criticism of Trump and school president
- January 2017 - Campus Pride denounces President of Liberty University Jerry Falwell, Jr
- February 2017 - Trump Taps LGBT Foe Jerry Falwell to Head Education Task Force
- February 2017 - Liberty and Bob Jones universities may run afoul of Obama Title IX protections for LGBT
- March 2017 - Donald Trump Giving Commencement Speech At University That Bans LGBT Students
- April 2017 - Former college athlete on surviving conversion therapy and gay ‘exorcism’
- August 2017 - Liberty employees sign Nashville Statement
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- June 2020 - Falwell’s son, current Liberty President Falwell Jr., has been less vocal on the subject of LGBTQ relationships than his father, although members of the school's LGBTQ community staged a protest on campus in 2019 when Falwell made comments they decried as transphobic. The school also made Campus Pride’s “worst list” for LGBTQ youth as recently as 2017, and Liberty’s code of conduct — known as the “Liberty Way” — still explicitly forbids sexual relations "outside of a biblically-ordained marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman.”
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Life Pacific College
San Dimas, California
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: The Foursquare Church
Enrollment Size: 584
Life Pacific College has qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university. Life Pacific College has also qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- August 2016 – Opposing SB 1146 at Life Pacific College
- November 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Lipscomb University
Nashville, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Church of Christ
Enrollment Size: 48884
Lipscomb University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Louisiana College
Pineville, Louisiana
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1300
Louisiana College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- April 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2015 – Second exemption request filed
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
Lutheran Brethren Seminary
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Lutheran
Enrollment Size: 40
Lutheran Brethren Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2018 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2018 – Title IX exemption granted
Malone University
Canton, Ohio
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Evangelical Friends (Religious Society of Friends)
Enrollment Size: 1123
Malone University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a demonstrated past history and track record of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices. The Community Agreement for Sexual Conduct statement reads: "Sex should be exclusively reserved for the marriage relationship, understood as a legal, lifelong commitment between a husband and wife." Note: Under current United States law, legal marriage includes same sex marriage.
Campus History
- October 2021 - Associate Professor informs Malone University administration leadership that she is getting married in the summer to a woman. Sent to the Student Body, the email shares how this is in violation of the Community Agreement and purports that she agreed to resign after eight years of working for the university.
- October 2021 - Departure of gay Malone University professor ignites LGBTQ+ debate
Manhattan Christian College
Manhattan, Kansas
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 384
Manhattan Christian College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- April 2016 – Second exemption request filed
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Maranatha Baptist University
Watertown, Wisconsin
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Independent Baptist (unaffiliated)
Enrollment Size: 962
Maranatha Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2012 - MBU requests Title IX exemption
- June 2013 - DOE grants exemption
Messiah University
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 3370
Messiah University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Mid-Atlantic Christian University
Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Mid-Atlantic Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Kansas City, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1702
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2014 - Midwestern Seminary President's essay on same-sex marriage
- October 2015 - Southern Baptist Conference: ‘Struggling’ LGBT People Can Change Through Christ
- March 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2016 - Midwestern Seminary professor counters "born this way" narrative in book
- July 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2017 - MBTS employees, including president, sign Nashville Statement
Milligan University
Milligan, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Non-denominational Christian Church
Enrollment Size: 1300
Milligan University (formerly Milligan College) has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of statements and reports of anti-LGBTQ discrimination on campus that has created an inhospitable, harmful climate for LGBTQ students, staff and faculty.
The President Bill Greer in 2020 reiterated that "we endorse the position that 'The Christian scriptures portray human sexuality as a gift from God intended to be expressed within the context of chastity in singleness or covenant marriage.' Further, we believe that 'Biblical marriage is heterosexual.' It is important to understand, however, that this position does not prohibit someone who identifies with the LGBTQ community from enrolling here. Nor does allowing enrollment imply acceptance of this lifestyle. It does, however, demonstrate the sort of grace that Jesus would show.'
As stated in the university Faculty Handbook even tenured professors can be terminated for “immoral conduct,” including “immoral sexual conduct,” which is described as “any sexual conduct outside of a marriage relationship of a man and a woman.”
2019 graduate Mikaela Way said to the news. "I’d say a huge percentage of that community is closeted and doesn’t feel like they can be their true and honest selves with the people who are supposed to love them and know them best of all — their Christian community.”
Campus History
- October 2015 - Board of Trustees approve Statement on Sexuality
- October 2020 - Forced resignation of Milligan University professor heightens calls for change, dialogue regarding LGBTQ community
- October 2020 - Milligan Students Call for Commitment Against LGBTQ Discrimination
- October 2020 - Statement from Milligan University President Bill Greer
- October 2020 - ETSU Student Government committee denounces Milligan over alleged LGBTQ discrimination
- April 2020 - Open letter denouncing the Milligan University Administration from alumni and students
Mississippi College
Clinton, Mississippi
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 4921
Mississippi College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2007 - Gay Rights Activists Protest MC
- October 2008 - Soulforce Does MC, Again
- September 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
Missouri Baptist University
Saint Louis, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 5212
Missouri Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- March 2016 – MBU provides further information regarding exemption request
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Moody Bible Institute
Chicago, Illinois
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 3545
Moody Bible Institute has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth. In addition, the campus employs faculty who promote harmful "ex-gay" conversion therapy.
Campus History
- MBI employs "ex-gay" icon Christopher Yuan
- August 2017 - Moody employees, including president, sign Nashville Statement
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Multnomah University
Portland, Oregon
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 418
Multnomah University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2015 – A Portland University Wants Federal Permission to Ban Transgender Students
- December 2015 – Protesters gather at Multnomah University demonstrating against Title IX exemption
- December 2015 – Federal Funding Is Not a Form of Religious Liberty
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- September 2016 - 2 Oregon universities on list of 'absolute worst campuses' for LGBTQ students
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
New Orleans, Louisiana
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 3911
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2016 - NOBTS president signs letter against SB 1146
- August 2017 - NOBTS staff, including president, sign Nashville Statement
North Greenville University
Tigerville, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 2319
North Greenville University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2015 – Why same-sex ruling has SC’s religious-based schools fearing loss of tax exemption
- August 2016 – Bob Jones president and others ask Haley for help on transgender bathroom issue
- August 2016 - Eight Carolinas colleges included on ‘Shame List’ for LGBT discrimination
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Northpoint Bible College
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 301
Northpoint Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2016 – Rep. Clark introduces law to list schools asking for LGBT exemptions
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Northwest Nazarene University
Nampa, Idaho
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Church of the Nazarene
Enrollment Size: 2249
Northwest Nazarene University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- July 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- August 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
Nyack College
Nyack, New York
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian and Missionary Alliance
Enrollment Size: 3305
- June 2014 - Nyack College president signs letter to President Obama requesting religious exemption from LGBT protections for hiring
- December 2015 - Christian College Coach Assaulted, Harassed, and Outed Gay Students: Lawsuit
- December 2015 - Nyack College cancels ceremony in face of LGBT protests
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Oak Hills Christian College
Bemidji, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 125
Oak Hills Christian College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
Ohio Christian University
Circleville, Ohio
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Churches of Christ in Christian Union
Enrollment Size: 4156
Ohio Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2014 – Ohio Board Of Education Member Calls On Religious Right To Take Over Education
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2015 – More Religious Schools Seek Right to Discriminate Against LGBT Students
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 1986
Oklahoma Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2006 – Students Use Spring Break to Fight Schools’ Anti-Gay Policies
- March 2007 – Equality Riders Arrested at Oklahoma Baptist University; Administration Reneges on Last Year’s Promise to Protect LGBT Students
- March 2012 – Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group holds demonstration at Oklahoma Baptist University
- November 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- February 2016 – Students Picket Christian Colleges Seeking ‘Right to Discriminate’
- May 2016 – Birthing a Bison: Building Student Power in Hostile Environments
- June 2016 – Faces of Faith: LGBTQ Students at Christian Colleges
- July 2016 – How Title IX exemptions force LGBT students to suffer in silence
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Reformed
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: 2584
Oklahoma Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- October 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- February 2017 - Oklahoma Christian featured on gay-rights group shame list
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Wesleyan Church
Enrollment Size: 1600
Oklahoma Wesleyan University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2015 - Oklahoma Wesleyan and Union U. Quit CCCU Over Same-Sex Marriage Moves
- January 2016 - Oklahoma Wesleyan President's Anti-trans Policy Denounced as 'Despicable'
- January 2016 - Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Says He is “Proud” to Discriminate Against Transgender People
- September 2016 - Two colleges stand by HB2, will not send teams to championships moved out of North Carolina
- May 2017 - President Everett Piper speaks at anti-LGBT hate group World Congress of Families
- August 2017 - OWU president signs Nashville Statement
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, Illinois
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Church of the Nazarene
Enrollment Size: 4900
- March 2011 - Student newspaper reports that LGBT students who are seeking to accept their identity are denied campus counseling services
- March 2012 - Ex-gay speaker Mike Haley speaks at ONU
- February 2014 - Ex-gay speaker Christopher Yuan speaks at ONU
- August 2016 - ONU president signs letter against SB 1146
Oral Roberts University
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Charismatic-Pentecostal
Enrollment Size: 3852
Oral Roberts University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2006 - Oral Roberts University Sends Mixed Message to Gays: We Love You All; Do Not Come Onto Our Campus
- April 2011 - A Gay Grandson to an Evangelical Empire
- March 2016 - Fitbit helps a conservative evangelical college monitor students' sexual activity
- April 2016 - Former ORU student says school is blocking her re-admission over her marriage to a woman
- September 2016 - Oral Roberts grandson speaks on erasure of gay uncle
- October 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- December 2018 - Gay student endures conversion therapy at Oral Roberts University
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Ozark Christian College
Joplin, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Restorationist
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Enrollment Size: 679
Ozark Christian College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Patrick Henry College
Purcellville, Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 344
Patrick Henry College has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Phoenix Seminary
Phoenix, Arizona
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 244
Phoenix Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - Phoenix staff, including president, sign Nashville Statement
- April 2021 - Filed motion to intervene to defend their religion-based bigotry despite the abuses of LGBTQ+ students cited in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education.
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego, California
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Church of the Nazarene
Enrollment Size: 3852
Point Loma Nazarene University has qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- December 2012 - LGBTQ Club Denied Charter at Point Loma Nazarene University
- November 2014 - PLNU expects celibacy when hiring LGBT
- September 2015 - PLNU says 'no more' to on-campus wedding ceremonies after SCOTUS gay marriage ruling
- August 2016 - Point Loma, 101 others, take their spots on the anti-LGBT college 'Shame List'
- August 2016 - State senator drops proposal that angered religious universities in California
- September 2016 – PLNU Donates $50,000 to fight Senate Bill 1146
Point University
West Point, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Methodist
Denomination: Free Methodist Church of North America
Enrollment Size: 2200
Point University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Randall University
Moore, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Free Will Baptist
Enrollment Size: 365
Randall University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Reformation Bible College
Sanford, Florida
Religious Affiliation: Reformed
Denomination: Reformed Christian
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Reformation Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - RBC president signs Nashville Statement
Reformed Theological Seminary
Jackson, Mississippi
Religious Affiliation: Reformed
Denomination: Presbyterian Church in America
Enrollment Size: 1534
Reformed Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
Regent University
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 8952
Regent University has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - Regent staff signs Nashville Statement
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Rhema Bible Training College
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Rhema Bible Church
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Rhema Bible Training College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle, Washington
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Free Methodist Church of North America
Enrollment Size: 3601
Seattle Pacific University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and is cited as one of the campuses in the class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education for abuses to LGBTQ+ students over the years.
Campus History
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Shepherds Theological Seminary
Cary, North Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 75
Shepherds Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
Shorter University
Rome, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 3702
Shorter University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2011 - Shorter University faculty leaving over new lifestyle statements; one employee speaks out
- May 2012 - Shorter University’s ‘Personal Lifestyle Statement’ Which Bans Gay Employees Leads To Faculty Exodus
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Simpson University
Redding, California
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian and Missionary Alliance
Enrollment Size: 1162
Simpson University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2013 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- May 2016 - Senate bill says religion no excuse for LGBT discrimination
- August 2016 - Simpson unlikely to be sued for LGBT discrimination after bill change, school says
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 3000
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2016 - Eight Carolinas colleges included on ‘Shame List’ for LGBT discrimination
- August 2017 - SEBTS employees, including president, sign Nashville Statement
Southeastern University
Lakeland, Florida
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 2779
Southeastern University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- August 2016 – Southeastern University provides further information regarding exemption
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Southern Evangelical Seminary
Matthews, North Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 284
Southern Evangelical Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because its president signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - SES president signs Nashville Statement
Southern Nazarene University
Bethany , Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Church of the Nazarene
Enrollment Size: 2254
Southern Nazarene University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Southern Virginia University
Buena Vista, Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Denomination: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Enrollment Size: 1100
Southern Virginia University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Southern Wesleyan University
Central, South Carolina
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: Wesleyan Church
Enrollment Size: 2414
Southern Wesleyan University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- May 2013 - Professor fired for supporting LGBT student group
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2015 - Why same-sex ruling has SC’s religious-based schools fearing loss of tax exemption
- August 2016 - Eight Carolinas colleges included on ‘Shame List’ for LGBT discrimination
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Southwest Baptist University
Bolivar, Missouri
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 3696
Southwest Baptist University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- April 2010 - Soulforce Equality Ride comes to SBU
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University
Waxahachie, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 2064
Southwestern Assemblies of God University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- January 2008 - 3 Soulforce Equality Riders arrested on SAGU campus
- January 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
- September 2016 - SAGU releases statement regarding Campus Pride ‘Shame List’
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Fort Worth, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 2719
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
- August 2017 - SWBTS staff sign Nashville Statement
Southwestern Christian University
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: International Pentecostal Holiness Church
Enrollment Size: 850
Southwestern Christian University has qualified for the Worst List because it expelled a lesbian student for marrying another woman.
Campus History
Spring Arbor University
Spring Arbor, Michigan
Religious Affiliation: Methodist
Denomination: Free Methodist Church
Enrollment Size: 3732
Spring Arbor University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, or gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- June 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- June 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2014 - Religious University President: We Want Permission To Discriminate But We Won’t Use It
- August 2016 - Two Michigan colleges recognized among country's worst for LGBT students
St. Francis University
Loretto, Pennsylvania
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Catholicism
Enrollment Size: 2345
St. Francis University in Pennsylvania has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Campus History
- December 2020 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2021- Title IX exemption granted
St. Gregory’s University
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Roman Catholic Church
Enrollment Size: 744
St. Gregory’s University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds. The university no longer exists and closed in 2017.
Campus History
- March 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
Sterling College
Sterling, Kansas
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christ-Centered
Enrollment Size: 650
Sterling College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- August 2017 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2018 – Title IX exemption granted
Tabor College
Hillsboro, Kansas
Religious Affiliation: Anabaptist
Denomination: Mennonite Brethren
Enrollment Size: 729
Tabor College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- November 2015 - Eyeing the pastorate, gay student leaving Tabor
- January 2016 - Tabor "Love" Letter and Angry Activists
Taylor University
Upland, Indiana
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian
Enrollment Size: 2076
Taylor University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- September 2018 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2019 - Title IX exemption granted
The Baptist College of Florida
Graceville, Florida
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Conventiom
Enrollment Size: 625
The Baptist College of Florida has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2014 – Title IX exemption granted
The Master’s University
Santa Clarita, California
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 1137
The Master’s University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status while still receiving federal funds. The Master’s University has also qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
Campus History
- February 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2016 – Master’s College president opposes SB 1146
- September 2016 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
- August 2017 - Master's employees, including president, sign Nashville Statement
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Louisville, Kentucky
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 5067
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has qualified for the Worst List because members of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth.
Campus History
Toccoa Falls College
Toccoa Falls, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Christian and Missionary Alliance
Enrollment Size: 920
Toccoa Falls College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
Trevecca Nazarene University
Nashville, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Wesleyan-Holiness
Denomination: The Church of the Nazarene
Enrollment Size: 3962
Trevecca Nazarene University has qualified for the Worst List because it has a past and recent history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and specifically advocated as part of a 2019 amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender.
Campus History
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Trinity Baptist College
Jacksonville, Florida
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Independent Baptist (unaffiliated)
Enrollment Size: 232
Trinity Baptist College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- February 2028 - Title IX exemption granted
Trinity Bible College
Ellendale, North Dakota
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 227
Trinity Bible College has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- April 2007 - College demonstration leads to arrests of three
- October 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2016 – TBC requests response from Dept. of Education
- August 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Trinity International University
Deerfield, Illinois
Religious Affiliation: Evangelical
Denomination: Evangelical Free Church of America
Enrollment Size: 2564
Trinity International University has qualified for the Worst List because a member of its staff signed onto the Nashville Statement condemning LGBTQ people and using religion-based bigotry to perpetuate stereotypes and harm toward LGBTQ youth. In addition, TIU worked to dismantle SB 1146.
Campus History
- August 2016 - TIU president signs letter against SB 1146
- August 2017 - TIU staff signs Nashville Statement
Truett-McConnell University
Cleveland, Georgia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 921
Truett McConnell-University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- May 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- June 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Union University
Jackson, Tennessee
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 4000
Union University has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- November 2008 - "Locked Out of My Own School:" Equality Ride Visits Union University
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2015 - Oklahoma Wesleyan and Union U. Quit CCCU Over Same-Sex Marriage Moves
- August 2017 - UU employees, including president, sign Nashville Statement
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- July 2020 - UU revokes student’s admission after learning he’s gay
- March 2021 - The Religious Exemption Accountability Project, or REAP, filed a class action lawsuit Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education on March 26, 2021, against this campus and other named campuses citing the abuses that thousands of LGBTQ+ students endured at these colleges and universities over the years. LGBTQ+ students document their own direct discrimination, harassment and negative harms in the filing. Those abuses include “conversion therapy, expulsion, denial of housing and health care, sexual and physical abuse and harassment.” The abuses also include the “less visible, but no less damaging, consequences of institutionalized shame, fear, anxiety, and loneliness.”
University of Dallas
Irving, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Roman Catholic Church
Enrollment Size: 2843
University of Dallas has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of gender identity while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- May 2015 - University Of Dallas Student Demands School’s President Apologize For Anti-Gay Commencement Speech
- July 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- January 2016 – Dept. of Education requests further information regarding exemption request
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
- September 2016 – University of Dallas provides further information regarding exemption request
- January 2017 - Title IX exemption granted
University of Mary
Bismarck, North Dakota
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Denomination: Catholicism
Enrollment Size: 2169
University of Mary has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- October 2020 – Title IX exemption request filed
- December 2020 - Title IX exemption granted
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Belton, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 3103
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
- August 2016 - 9 Texas colleges rank among the 'absolute worst' for LGBT students, gay rights group says
University of Mobile
Eight Mile, Alabama
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 1466
University of Mobile has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- March 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
University of Northwestern-St. Paul
St. Paul, Minnesota
Religious Affiliation: Interdenominational
Denomination: Interdenominational Christian
Enrollment Size: 3427
University of Northwestern-St. Paul has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- September 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
- July/August 2019 - Amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County to allow employment discrimination at religious institutions because an employee is gay or transgender. The amicus brief from the campus argued that LGBTQ discrimination was allowed under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it does not and should not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
University of the Cumberlands
Williamsburg, Kentucky
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 2655
University of the Cumberlands has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- May 2006 - Gay Student Expelled from U. the Cumberlands; School May Lose Funding
- March 2007 - Three arrested during Soulforce demonstration
- July 2009 - UC officials mum about turning choir away for LGBT affirming beliefs
- April 2010 - State Supreme Court strikes down aid to religious school
- January 2015 – Title IX exemption request filed
- March 2015 – Title IX exemption granted
Vanguard University
Costa Mesa, California
Religious Affiliation: Pentecostal
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Enrollment Size: 2115
Vanguard University has qualified for the Worst List because it worked to dismantle SB 1146, a California bill designed to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination at their Christian college or university.
The institution previously known as Southern California College had a Title IX religious exemption related to marital status and pregnancy while still receiving federal funds. In 2016, Vanguard University requested in a letter to the Department of Education to withdraw the campus 1988 exemption request and the request to withdraw the exemption was granted.
Campus History
Virginia Baptist College
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Faith Baptist Church
Enrollment Size: Not Listed
Virginia Baptist College (aka Veritas Baptist College) has qualified for the Worst List because it holds an exemption to Title IX, allowing the college to discriminate against its students on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or receipt of abortion while still receiving federal funds.
Campus History
- February 2016 – Title IX exemption request filed
- May 2016 – Title IX exemption granted
Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, Texas
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Denomination: Southern Baptist Convention
Enrollment Size: 5536